


The Carat

by dreamyserendipity



Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Pirate, Assistant Gunner! Chan, Captain! Mingyu, Carpenter! Vernon, Chef! Seokmin, Cook! Jun, Doctor! Minghao, Hate to Love, M/M, Master Gunner! Seungcheol, Musician! Seungkwan, Navigator! Soonyoung, Quartermaster! Jihoon, References to Sex, Scribe! Joshua, Slow Burn, Soonyoung is the real mvp, Surgeon! Jeonghan, Swearing, idk don't sue me lmao, mild violence, more tags to be added as the story progresses, slightly crackish
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-19
Updated: 2019-08-16
Packaged: 2019-11-24 11:55:52
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 21,669
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18164876
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dreamyserendipity/pseuds/dreamyserendipity
Summary: "Today was dull.I just feel like I could do more with myself.I crave something new, something to inspire me, something to make me write pages upon pages without stopping…"Wonwoo is kidnapped by a group of pirates, and is forced to adjust to a completely different life from what he's used to. He finally finds something that inspires him to write, and falls in love on the way.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> hello my goblins   
> you know when you just need to write something  
> something being a pirate au where all 13 members of seventeen are a pirate crew and do piratey things  
> aye you know  
> i'd love for you guys to shout at me in the comments or find me on twitter @ksjmygjhsknj or dreamyserendipity on tumblr, feel free to scream at me there also and encourage me to write more of this   
> if you want more that is lmao  
> love you guys uwu

Wonwoo sits under an old oak tree between two thick, large roots, while leaves cast a shadow over his whole body. On top of the hill he is alone, he closes his eyes: all he can hear is a faint breeze passing, the leaves scratching against each other, he can feel his hair tickling his forehead. He takes a deep breath, exhaling as the breeze disappears completely. He picks up the book from his lap and takes out the worn bookmark tucking it in the pocket on his chest and begins reading without pause.

He finishes his book quickly and leans his head back against the trunk of the tree, looking at the village at the bottom of the hill. It’s quite a small village. He knows pretty much everyone, he knows his way around from just pure muscle memory, he’s even familiar with the hermit and his dog who live at the edge of the village. People definitely know who he is, not by his choice however. As the village mayor’s son there’s a constant ray of light on him, everyone seems to be aware of everything he does. Plus, the expectations of following in his father’s footsteps. He dislikes that his path in life has been chosen for him, but he guesses that he can’t avoid it. He knows he’ll eventually die in this village, it’s not like he can travel anywhere.

His thoughts are cut off by his stomach rumbling. He gets up, stretching his back, scrunching his nose as he yawns. He makes his way down the hill and into the village.

Wonwoo makes his way towards the village square, which is where everyone usually spends their time if they're not at their own homes. In half of the square, is where the market stalls live: over there's Hye-mi, who sells her husbands produce while he works on the farm. Mi-young, she sells squares of fabrics, Byung-ho is the resident shoemaker. There's pretty much a stall for each need. 

He walks over to the sweet stall, baked pastries, bread makes Wonwoo's stomach go. Min-ho smiles widely as Wonwoo approaches, quickly standing. “Afternoon, Mr. Jeon. How goes it?” Min-ho is the village baker, middle aged, large belly, but built arms from wrestling stubborn balls of dough daily. He stands stiff in front of Wonwoo, which irritates him, he just wishes that people wouldn’t treat him like royalty, acting like if they make one wrong move that he’ll run off and tell his dad and have their businesses shut down. Wonwoo mimics the baker’s awkward smile. “It’s been pleasant, thank you. Um, could I get a sweet bun please?” The baker responds instantly, scooping the treat into a paper bag, stuffing another in with it. Wonwoo stops himself from rolling his eyes, taking the parcel of buns from him. “Here’s your bun, I put another one in there for you free of charge, you’re looking a bit thin, you’ll need to thicken up if you want the ladies attention, son.” Wonwoo hands him the coins for the bun, taking the change from Min-ho making an attempt to walk away. “Thank you Min-ho, I appreciate the thought, although it’s not needed. I’ll see you to-” He’s cut off by the baker laughing deeply, holding his hand on his round stomach. “Nonsense, my boy. Here, listen. My dear Ji-hye would be upset with me for telling you, but she’s taken quite the liking towards you, asking if you’ve popped by, things like that. Just thought I’d put in a good word for you, she’s a lovely girl, nice to settle down with, you’re both only getting older.” The fat man, chuckles.Wonwoo is stunned. Of course you’ll put in a good word for her, she’s your daughter. And he’s well aware of Ji-hye’s ‘liking towards him’. She’s approached Wonwoo before, practically shoving a paper bag similar to the one he’s holding right now into his hands, only it was filled with many more sweets. He remembers her standing in front of him, pushing her chest out as far as possible, going on about how she ‘made them herself’. Wonwoo remembers holding back the urge to tell her that no matter how far she pushes her breasts out that they’re still small and that he prefers people of the male variety so no thank you. Instead he awkwardly thanked her for making them for him and took off in the opposite direction as far away as possible from her. Damn, she probably thinks he likes her too. He should have just said he likes a fat cock in his hand and then he wouldn’t have to deal with things like this and he could be left alone. He leaves those thoughts for now, and pretends he cares about what the baker is trying to say about how amazing his daughter is, nodding along politely.When the baker pauses, he sees his chance: “ I’m flattered, but I really must leave you, my father’s expecting me and he’ll be upset if I’m late home to help him.” That of course, is a lie, but Min-ho here doesn’t need to know that. He tenses at the mention of his dad and Wonwoo is successful in escaping from him.

He takes the long trail home, walking at a comfortable pace, eating his bun contently. Looking up, the clear sky is darker, he thinks about going to see his dad at the town-house, but knowing his dad he’ll be too busy working and dealing with all his mayor related things. Which means, he’s too busy to acknowledge Wonwoo’s existence.

He plans his dinner for the night. Cabbage soup? No, he doesn’t fancy it. Do they have any meat? He could have some chicken. On second thought, he can’t be bothered to cook. Boiled rice it is. He remembers the days when he was younger, where he didn’t have to cook, his mother would make food for them, and he’d wolf down every meal without fail. Those days where his mother was still here. His father would come home from the town-house, Wonwoo would come home from school, and all three of them would sit and have dinner every night without fail, no matter how busy any of them were. She passed when Wonwoo was 14. His father began to spend all his time working and practically lived in the town-house, while Wonwoo had to learn how to look after himself. That’s what had initially drawn him to reading and writing, he liked how you could decide how the story progressed, how the characters would interact, how the story ended. A part of him wishes his life was a story- he could change so many things, his appearance for one. He could make himself less thin and weak, his face more handsome. He could make himself a normal guy, not in the spotlight. He could even change the events so his mother was still here… 

Unfortunately, he’s accepted that’s impossible, he can’t change his life to make it better and easier.

He comes to his house, unlocking the front door, and puts his book on the table. Kicking off his shoes, he yawns. He supposes he could go to sleep early tonight, but instead sits down at his desk and opens a worn journal to a fresh page. Dipping a quill in some in ink he sets off writing.

"Today was dull.   
I just feel like I could do more with myself.  
I crave something new, something to inspire me, something to make me write pages upon pages without stopping…"

He puts the quill down on the desk, resting his head in his hands and runs his hands through his hair, trying to comb out the frustration from his choppy hair. Sighing deeply, he picks the quill back up and continues writing, using the diary as a way to vent his problems and emotions.

"I’m alone…

I miss mum…"

A loud cry startles him as he writes the curve of the ‘m’ making him draw a crooked line down the page. He freezes. He heard the pure fear in that cry. Something is happening. Before he can even blink there’s another shout, sounds of wood being hit, crashes as things are thrown around. He hears his neighbour cry for mercy, begging for the intruder to leave. He hears more shouts, sobbing, crashes, the sounds are layering. He can only assume all his neighbours are experiencing the same thing, what is this threat, why aren’t they fighting back? Shit. Wonwoo begins to panic, he’s most likely going to be next. He stands quickly, knowing he probably doesn’t have a lot of the time and runs for the kitchen outside his room. He needs to defend himself. How. He doesn’t think when he grabs a knife and rushes into his bedroom. He hears the shouting get closer outside of his house. He doesn’t have a lot of options on where to hide. He slips under his single bed, pulling his legs towards himself so there’s no way to be seen. 

His door is kicked down and Wonwoo stiffens, gripping the knife till his knuckles are white. Their words are muffled by the walls, but he clearly hears people ransacking his house, he hopes they just take what they need, that they don’t even bother coming in his room, he hopes they just assume no one is home. His hopes aren’t enough. The door to his bedroom swings open, and Wonwoo stops breathing.

Someone walks into his room, slowly, as if they’re looking round Wonwoo’s room, looking to see if there’s anything worth taking. He hears their footsteps walk towards the desk. One of them talks.

“ Hey, you think ‘Shua would want any of this shit, they got words in ‘em.” Wonwoo cringes, praying they leave his books, the only things he wants them to leave. Take his clothes, his coin pouch, even his bedsheets, just leave his books, please.

A different voice replies, deeper than the first. “ Aye, just grab what looks good.”

Fuck sake. He thinks about exposing himself and attacking them, but he thinks sensibly, his life is worth more than an object.

“Hoonie!” The voice in the room shouts. “Look! A dee-are-wee? Ain’t that what you write personal shit in? Wish I knew what it says. Wanna know some dirty secrets.” The man cackles. Dirty? Yeah his dreams might be, he’s not about to write about it in a diary where people like his dad could read it if they found it.

The man with the deeper voice enters the room, walking over to the other man.

“That’s cause you’re a nosy shit. You find anything worth snatching in here? Cap wants this all over as soon as possible. I’m not gonna be the one to tell him we were late back on the ship cause you wanted to know some losers ‘dirty secrets’.”

Wonwoo takes in what was just said. ‘Cap’?… Ship?… who are these people? 

Oh fuck, shit, balls. When he said he wanted something to happen in his life he didn’t mean he wanted his village invaded by fucking pirates! He’s glad he grabbed the knife. Although it’s small, it’s still sharp, it could buy him enough time to get a head start on running away if they find him.

“But it’s a cute lookin’ dee-ree, look how fancy this person writes, they’ve got to have something good in here.”

“Soonyoung. Can you just leave the diary, I doubt it’s got anything interesting in it, you can’t even read it.”

“Hoonie, I know but, can we at least take it back so ‘Shua can-”  
“Be quiet.” The deeper voice snaps.  
“What why?”  
“The inks still wet.”

Wonwoo freaks. They know he’s in the room. He’s fucked. He holds his breath, not moving a limb in fear of being discovered.

The two men begin tearing his room apart, pulling back his curtains, throwing the chair across the room so they can look under the desk, tipping the chest of drawers over. Shit, he knows they’re gonna find him, he adjusts his grip on the knife, ready to dart forward and attack at the right moment. His eyes widen as both pairs of footsteps walk towards the bed. He’s ready. He’s literally about to stab a pirate.

The men pull the bed from it’s place against the wall, making it scratch against the floor as it moves across the room. Wonwoo moves as soon as he’s exposed, not even looking the closest man in the face as he uses all his strength to wedge the knife into the man’s thigh.

“FUCK. GRAB HIM SOONYOUNG. NOW!” 

Wonwoo makes a break for the door without looking back, reaching the entrance, but quickly being tackled. He falls to the floor with the man on top on him. Fucking hell. He just attacked a pirate and got caught before he could escape, he hopes they just end his life quickly. But knowing the reputation of pirates, he doesn’t think he’s going to be as lucky.

The man pulls him onto his back, roughly grabbing his arms and pinning them down, while he straddles Wonwoo’s legs, his strong hold not allowing Wonwoo to move a muscle.  
He looks at the man on top of him. He doesn’t really look like a pirate. He has round cheeks, sharp eyes gazing down at him, a confident smirk on his face. He's obviously happy with himself.

The man who he stabbed walks over, Wonwoo looks at his thigh, the knife is no longer there, but blood stains the black fabric of his slacks. The man crouches next to Wonwoo’s head, holding the bloody knife he yanked out of his leg, and presses it against Wonwoo’s adam’s apple, the tip of the knife ready to break skin if the man pushes it even a millimetre further. He makes eye contact with said man. He’s far shorter than the other man, he has a more defined face, small eyes glaring at Wonwoo.

“ You’re gonna let us do our thing without struggle or I’ll slice this pretty neck right open and leave you to bleed out on your own bedroom floor.” The short man pushes the knife, making a small prick in the skin. Wonwoo swallows.

“Jihoonie wait.”

‘Jihoonie’ looks at the man on top of Wonwoo as he speaks. “ You know what, I think Cap would like this one, got a lot of strength for a twig, hehe, he quite likes handsome men, an’ look he can write, could be useful?”

Wonwoo turns his glare to the man above him. Cap? Fuck that, he’s not gonna have some disgusting old man fondle him. “Fuck you” Wonwoo spits. His comment is ignored while the two pirates stare at each other, as if they are trying to communicate through their thoughts.

“ Ugh, Soonyoung, just… fine. Cap said bring only useful supplies, so you can explain to him why you decided to bring an actual human onto the ship instead of food that could feed us another day.” He stands up and waits with his arms folded.

“Yessssssssss. Cm’on handsome- Don’t worry Hoonie, I think you’re more handsome, I’ll kiss that nasty wound better later.” He winks at the angry pirate, and pulls Wonwoo up onto his feet, keeping a firm grip on his bicep, almost cutting off the blood supply in Wonwoo’s arm.

Wonwoo is beyond angry. He can’t believe he’s being kidnapped by pirates. He can’t believe he’s pretty much being forced into being a whore for this disgusting and probably extremely ugly and old ‘Cap’. Feeling the iron grip on his arm, he knows he has no choice, but to just follow and obey.

The two pirates pull him through his village, right through the village square, he looks at everyone, they’re all watching him being carted off. He’s can see everyone, his neighbours, the stall merchants, he looks around for his dad. Surely he’ll do something, get him out of this, help him, something. Wonwoo scans the small crowd. He sees him. His dad is stood next to Ji-hye and Min-ho, his eyes make contact with Wonwoo’s, a ray of hope flashes through Wonwoo. But, he soon loses that hope as his dad looks down, as if his only son and child isn’t been kidnapped right in front of him. Fucking coward. Doesn’t even fight for him. He holds back tears and looks at the ground, trying his best to ignore the many people watching him as he walks.

The three come towards the port. 

“Oi, handsome.”

Wonwoo looks up, his eyes wide, mouth open, shock and wonder painted on his face as he looks at the mighty vessel in front of him. It’s beyond huge, it’s so mesmerising, he’s enchanted by it.

Soonyoung chuckles at his expression.

“Behold, The Carat.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm back!!!!  
> thought id throw an update at you all  
> its a short one but i feel that it's v important for that sick plot y'know  
> also pls give mingyu a chance!!! dont judge him to quickly!!!!!  
> love ye all pls let me know what you think 
> 
> twitter @ksjmygjhsknj <3  
> tumblr dreamyserendipity

“She’s beautiful, isn’t she?” Soonyoung says lowly next to Wonwoo, breaking him out of the magical trance the ship had over him.

“I-” Wonwoo begins.

“We don’t have all day, get on the ship or we’re leaving without both of you.” Jihoon snaps, walking ahead towards the ship.

“That works for me, I’ll just be on my way.” Wonwoo turns 90 degrees before Soonyoung throws his arm around his shoulder, walking along with him towards the Carat.

“Nope, you’re staying with us now, besides, all the folks back there didn’t look that happy with you as we walked past, if I’m honest. So if you did go back they’d probably just kick you back out.” Wonwoo looks at the ground. Did everyone think he left voluntarily? Is that why his dad looked… so… disappointed..? The thought made the bile in his stomach rise. The pirate’s right, if he did go back to the village, there would be even more of a focus on him. He thinks hard. Perhaps there’s a chance, if he gets on this ship, he could beg this ‘Cap’. Beg him to be let off at their next stop, somewhere new, somewhere he can get the freedom he was thinking about moments before his house was invaded. He hopes this ‘Cap’ shows mercy, he has no other plan.

The arm round his shoulder disappears, making Wonwoo lift his head up. Soonyoung is now facing him, smiling with teeth.

“Okay, just climb up here like my Jihoonie is,” He points to the figure making his way up the ship. “ The, uh, ladder is out of use right now, I’ll explain later. Vernon’s fixing it up, you’ll meet him soon. C’mon, up you go!” Soonyoung pats his butt, and waits for him to start climbing.

Wonwoo grabs the rope, getting a firm grip before he hoists himself up, legs wobbling as he unsteadily climbs, focusing on each move he makes so he doesn’t fall.

“You’re a shitty climber, but you’re doing okay for your first time.” Chirps Soonyoung, who had swiftly passed Wonwoo, and is now sat on the edge of the ship, legs swinging like a child’s.

“Gee thanks.” Wonwoo glares at the happy pirate, and reaches the top with determination, pulling himself over the top of the ship and onto the deck. 

He rubs his hands, sore from holding the rope so tight. Soonyoung watches over like a proud parent watching their child taking their first steps. “ You’ll get used to that.” he chuckles.

“Glad to see you finally made it, took you long enough.” Jihoon is stood in front of them, giving Wonwoo a disapproving stare. Soonyoung puts his arms around Jihoon’s middle, hugging his back. “Hoonie, don’t be grumpy, be proud of our son! He climbed up all by himself!” Soonyoung coos at Wonwoo.

“He is not our son, I can hardly tolerate you as it is.” Jihoon replies. Wonwoo would have assumed he meant that from the tone he used, but he watches Jihoon’s hand slip over Soonyoung’s round his waist, and he knows there was no real venom behind it. It seems like Jihoon isn’t as abrasive as he presents himself.

“Let go of me, I have to actually go and perform my duties. You go take care of your ‘son’.” Jihoon pulls himself out of Soonyoung’s arms and makes his way up to the quarterdeck.

“Are you two…?” Wonwoo pauses, hoping the pirate understands his question.

“Are we absolutely in love?Yes of course. He just likes to pretend he doesn’t like me cause he thinks the crew won’t listen to his orders if they know he actually has feelings.” Soonyoung says with a fond expression, looking over to his lover.

“That’s nice.” Wonwoo replies. He’s surprised by the complexity of these pirates, and he’s only met two of them. His expectations came from stories that were told when he was a child, stories of murder, destruction- pirates were to be feared. These pirates didn’t murder, they didn’t shoot cannonballs into the houses, they just stole all of the village food and supplies and left everyone’s homes a mess. However, they are still pirates, therefore, Wonwoo decides,they can’t be trusted, even if they didn’t murder half his village, it doesn’t mean that they haven’t done it before, or will.

“You okay there, handsome? You look a bit sick, if you’re gonna throw up please don’t do it on deck cause they make me clean it up.” Soonyoung whines.

“Uh, no I’m good. And my name’s Wonwoo, not handsome.”

Soonyoung smiles. “ Right, I have to go do some things before we set sail, will you be okay just, er, standing here for a bit?”

Soonyoung bounces up and down on his toes, waiting for Wonwoo’s response. 

“I will, thank you. Go and do what you need to do. I won’t move.” Soonyoung nods and rushes off. Now that he’s stood alone, he doesn’t know what to do with himself. He looks around, pirates on deck are working, carrying barrels and crates, all of the things stolen from his village. It looks so hectic, but at the same time, it’s all so organised. They move around, not needing verbal communication, a pirate passing a crate of potatoes to another, that pirate taking it into the ship, he’s impressed. 

He soon begins to feel awkward, pirates push past him and swear, he knows he’s in the way, but he doesn’t know where to go, he’s never been on a ship before. He moves to the very front of the ship where the figurehead resides, and watches the ship sail forward. It’s late in the evening now, the sky a pure royal blue. The ocean parts easily for the ship, it’s calming to watch. He looks at the horizon in the distance, it just brings his imagination to life. He wishes he had access to paper and a quill, but he doubts the pirates are as kind.

Soonyoung joins him, leaning on the side of the ship. “ Glad to see the crew didn’t throw you overboard while I was gone, Wonwoo. I would have fought them for hurting my son.” He brings up his fists, punching the air next to him.

Wonwoo raises his eyebrow at him. He can’t help but laugh at the ridiculous behaviour. Soonyoung lights up at the response and clings onto Wonwoo’s arm. Wonwoo, as displeased at the touch as he is, doesn’t say anything, cause as nice as Soonyoung is, he doesn’t think the pirate would hesitate to shank him if Wonwoo shoved him to the ground.

“So Wonwoo, sorry about trying to steal your diary earlier, you have really nice looking writing, even though I don’t know what it says.”

“ Thank you?” Wonwoo says uncertainly “ You don’t read or write?”

“Shua’ taught me some letters, but it’s really hard so I gave up. What things do you write?”

“I… I like to write about everything, people, animals, places, whatever inspires me really.”

“Interesting.” A new voice comes from behind Wonwoo, causing him to jump and stand up stiffly. He turns, now facing a man, who is just taller than he is. The man is handsome, dark wavy hair parted to the side, his smile showing prominent canines, luscious tan skin all over his body. The man has multiple necklaces hanging from his neck, a thick ring on every finger apart from his ring finger. He wears a white blouse with a large v cut down the centre, showing his built chest. He’s different from the rest of the crew, a large cutlass, hangs off his hip, it looks like it is regularly cleaned. Wonwoo gulps. This must be the captain. His presence is dominating, holding eye contact with Wonwoo as he licks his lips.

“Hello. Pleasure to have you on my ship. My name is Mingyu, but please call me Captain, especially when we’re alone.” Mingyu winks. “ Overheard you saying you write?” He grabs Wonwoo by the waist and forcefully pulls him close into his arms. “ Come to my quarters and I’ll give you plenty to write about.” Mingyu slides his hand over Wonwoo’s ass, making Wonwoo tense. Wonwoo holds eye contact with him, silent, until the hand on Wonwoo’s ass squeezes.

Wonwoo slaps him. Hard.

The hands on Wonwoo let go. Wonwoo looks at the captain, there is a visible mark on the man’s cheek, his mouth open in shock. Wonwoo’s hand stings, but he doesn’t care, as long as it hurt.

“Fuck you. I’m not going to be your whore.” Wonwoo spits at him. He steps back, hands clenching at his sides.

Someone snorts, making Wonwoo look around, only now realising the whole crew is looking at him and Mingyu. He only just realises what he’s actually done. He’s only gone and attacked the CAPTAIN of the ship. He must really hate himself, god knows what Mingyu’s gonna do now.

There’s a few whispers from around them, which triggers Mingyu to come back to himself. His expression hardens. He breaks the silence.

“Jihoon. Take him into the hull, and put him in the cell. He has no use to me.” He looks around at the crew. “That applies to all of you as well if you don’t get back to work right now.” His tone is venomous as he storms off into his quarters. The crew immediately return to their tasks.

He feels a grip on his arm, Jihoon holds the same place Soonyoung did earlier, but with more strength, which will definitely leave a bruise on him. He hisses in pain, which is ignored by the short man. He looks at Soonyoung for help, but is given a shrug in return, an apologetic look on his face.

Jihoon takes him down to the cell, Wonwoo sits down inside, holding his knees to his chest, and stares at the dirty wood floor.

“That wasn’t a smart move, Wonwoo.” Jihoon says, turning the lock on the door of the cell.

“I’m worth more than that, Jihoon.”

Jihoon hums. And then there’s silence, and Wonwoo assumes he’s left.

“It’s interesting.” Wonwoo looks up, Jihoon is looking at him like he’s trying to figure him out, perhaps he is.

“What is?”

“It’s interesting he didn’t just end your life right there when you slapped him.”

Wonwoo furrows his eyebrows. “H-he does that?” his voice wobbles.

“Aye, if someone disrespects him the way you did, it wouldn’t be pretty, yet, he did nothing.” Jihoon muses.

Wonwoo doesn’t reply, taking in that statement. Mingyu could have just cut his throat right there, chucked him overboard, something, but he didn’t. Why? 

“Sorry you have to sleep in this shithole but it’s captains orders I’m afraid. I’m sure Soonyoung will come see you at some point.” Jihoon leaves with a curt nod.

Wonwoo stays in that position for a while. He hates that this is how everything turned out. He hates how his father didn’t try and save him. He hates how his only use for Mingyu was to be his whore. He was so close to freedom. He feels tears welling up in his eyes, refusing to move his arms to wipe them away as they cascade down his face.

He doesn’t know how long he cried for, only remembering at some point his eyes shut on their own, longing for rest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hopefully introduction of the crew in the next chapter if my brain doesn't get sidetracked with other plot!!!


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey!!! this took forever to write, its a bit longer than usual, and very dialogue heavy, so i hope it's easy enough to follow, if you're unsure of anything i mentioned in the chapter do ask i don't mind explaining something if i wasn't clear enough. yeet yeet.
> 
> do scream about character interaction with me though!!!!
> 
> also i've decided i'll update this at least once a week as i have been with the last two chapters, and hopefully you'll all stay for the journey!
> 
> love you guys

The sound of metal creaking wakes Wonwoo, his eyes flutter open. He sits up and breathes deeply as he works the crick out of his neck. The smell of cooked vegetables infiltrate his nostrils, making him aware of his empty stomach. Looking up, he sees Soonyoung holding a large tin bowl, pulling the cell door open. Wonwoo croaks a quiet “Morning,” as Soonyoung sits next to him and hands him the steaming bowl.

“Morning Wonu, eat that up while I talk.” Wonwoo begins eating, savouring the taste of each mouthful before he swallows, who knows when he’ll get another meal.

“Firstly, you would not believe the shock I experienced last night when you slapped the colour out of the captains cheek. When he came over I figured that he’d flirt with you and you’d fuck and then that would be it, but boy, was I wrong. You’re the first person to reject him you know, you put a big ol’ dent in his ego, he sulked all night in his quarters. I’m glad all he did was chuck you in here cause I’d be sad if he got rid of you…” Soonyoung rambles and Wonwoo quickly reaches the bottom of his bowl, holding it in his hands to absorb the faint heat that lingers.

“Soonyoung,” Wonwoo pauses. The pirate turns his head towards him. “ What’s gonna happen to me? Mingyu made it clear I was useless last night before I was taken here. Is he gonna come kill me in my sleep, or are you all gonna abandon me in the middle of the sea, or are am I destined to rot in this cell for the rest of my life?” He voices his worries to Soonyoung, who in response, laughs like Wonwoo just told him the world’s funniest joke.

“Wonu, you’re a funny one. I wouldn’t let that happen to you.” He takes the bowl out of Wonwoo’s hands and replaces it with his own hands, swinging Wonwoo’s limp arms around. “I tell you what, I can try see if I can get you out of here, and if I can convince Mingyu to let you help out, find you a place on board so you don’t become a skeleton in here, how does that sound?”

Wonwoo looks at Soonyoung, expecting him to laugh and tell him he was joking, and that Wonwoo’s going to be deposited on the nearest desert island at noon, but when he looks, Soonyoung has the most genuine smile on his face, holding Wonwoo’s hands tight.

“ I.. I… Thank you, Soonyoung. But you don’t need to go through all this trouble just for me, okay?”

A frown blooms on Soonyoung’s face, and Wonwoo holds his breath.

“We may be pirates, but we’re not evil, Wonwoo.”

Wonwoo exhales. 

“Even Mingyu, who seems like the worst person ever in your eyes, is actually a nice guy. You deserve to have a life even if you don’t suck Mingyu’s dick. So, I’m gonna go and try and sort something out for you, but unfortunately you’ll have to stay in here until then.” Soonyoung squeezes his hands once more before he goes to stand up. Wonwoo stands quickly with him, and grabs onto his arm, stopping the man from leaving.

“I can’t express how thankful I am. I’ve never had someone care like you have, and I’ve only known you a day.” There’s silence for a brief moment before Soonyoung speaks. 

“And hopefully you’ll know me for many more, Wonu. I’ll come by when I’ve got good news.” The men separate, and Soonyoung bends, picking up the bowl, locking the cell and swiftly exiting the room.

Wonwoo sits back down, leaning against a broken barrel. He hopes that Soonyoung manages to get him out of here, then he can work, he’ll keep quiet and cause no trouble, and then he’ll ask if he can be let off at the next city, then he can find a job and start a new life. It could take months, but he’ll get there eventually.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Wonwoo chucks the pebble upwards, following it with his eyes as it descends and falls back into his palm. 265. He throws it again. 266. Again. The door is flung open, startling Wonwoo, making him miss the pebble falling to the ground.

Soonyoung stands in front of him, holding his chest as he breathes heavily, did he run here? Wonwoo voices that thought.

“Of course!I did it! YAHAH!” The pirate yells,throwing his fist into the air excitedly. Wonwoo sits up straight, “ You did? How?”

“I’ll tell you what happened, get comfortable.” Soonyoung lets himself in the cell.

“So, I had to convince Jihoonie to convince Mingyu, cause my word wouldn’t really mean much, I’m only the navigator. But, my Hoonie is the big bad quartermaster, which is basically the captain’s second hand, that make sense?” Wonwoo nods. “ I go to Jihoon and I say ‘My babe, I really think that Wonwoo could be really helpful on board, so perhaps you could talk to Mingyu, and then you’d have extra help on the ship, and then I’d have another best friend. And then he just replied with no? He even said no after I begged. So then I thought hard, about what I could do, and I had an idea! I told him there was a problem in the sleeping quarters with one of the beds. We went down and he stomped around like he does and then said ‘Soonyoung there’s nothing wrong with these beds, why are we actually here?’ Instead of replying I just got on my knees, pulled down his slacks and did the thing he likes where I put my tongue-”

“OKAY! Okay! Please do not finish that sentence. What happened after that?”

“Oh. Right, so, um, after that, we were cuddling and he gets all soft after he cums, so I told him that he could show that he loves me by talking to Mingyu. And then he told me he will see what he can do! He left me after a while to go and discuss “important plans” with the cap, and then, when he came out he told me that he spoke with Mingyu, and that Mingyu said that you can work! I was that happy I told him he was gonna get it good tonight, hehe.” Wonwoo cringes. “ So, with your newly found freedom, I’ll take you to meet the rest of the crew and you can see where you feel like you could help out? Yeah?”

Wonwoo struggles to find the words to reply, instead pulling him into a hug. Soonyoung smiles, and holds him tight.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

As they make their way through the ship, Wonwoo keeps close to Soonyoung. They weave through countless halls, doorways, rooms. Wonwoo is in awe at how large the vessel actually is, wondering if he’ll ever learn how to navigate through all of this.

Soonyoung takes him into a large room. Pirates are sat on benches shovelling food into their mouths, completely ignoring Wonwoo and Soonyoung entering. This must be the dining area. 

When they enter the kitchen, there’s two men. One of them is cleaning tin pots with a rag, he’s got a long face with a sharp nose and thick thighs that Wonwoo is rather jealous of. The man turns towards Soonyoung and his teeth filled smile beams at him.

“Ahhh, Kwon Soonyoung! Foolishly returned to battle me?!” The man grabs a ladle hanging from the wall and points it towards Soonyoung. 

Soonyoung immediately responds by picking up a carrot and swinging it around. “ YAH! Lee Seokmin! Prepare to die!”

The men lunge at each other in turn, exaggerating each movement with the object in their hands, not even actually hitting each other, and Wonwoo is beyond confused by the display in front of him.

“They’re always like this, just so you know.” The other man in the room speaks.

Wonwoo’s attention turns to the other man in the kitchen. He hands Wonwoo a cup of water. “I’m Jun, nice to meet you.” Jun’s handsome, Wonwoo thinks. His eyes remind him of the stray cat who used to come visit Wonwoo while he read in the garden. “Wonwoo.” He replies as he sips on the water.

“You play cards?” Jun asks. He gets a nod in response. “Nice, you should play with me sometime, no one plays with me any more.” He pouts.

“Say no if you know what’s good for you, Wonu!” Soonyoung yells towards Wonwoo, but in the brief moment he is distracted, Seokmin smacks the carrot with the ladle,making it fly out of Soonyoung’s hand and hitting the wall.

All four men go silent for 0.5 seconds before they burst into laughter, Soonyoung wiping tears away from his eyes.

When the laughter dies down, Seokmin picks the carrot up and walks towards Wonwoo. “I’m Seokmin. When we say don’t accept his offer, we mean it, Jun here is far to good at card games, and every time without fail he has managed empty the coins out of my pockets.”

Jun latches onto Wonwoo’s arm like a child. “Wonwoo don’t listen to their lies, they’re just so bad at the games we play. Pleeeeeease?” He speaks with a pout, and Wonwoo’s heart melts.

“I’m not familiar with card games so you’ll have to teach me, but of course I’ll play with you.” 

Jun smiles “HAH! Suck my ass Seokmin, Wonwoo’ll play with me, so I don’t need you guys to keep losing pathetically any more.”

The duo opposite to them gasp, pretending to hold in tears. “Oh no, whatever will we do, Seok?” “ I really don’t know how we’ll survive Soonie!”

Jun rolls his eyes, letting go of Wonwoo and grabbing a dish of rice. “Oi Soonyoung, you wanna do me a favour and take this to Hao? He didn’t come by for lunch.”

The pair stop their dramatic act and Soonyoung takes the bowl, handing it to Wonwoo to carry. “I suppose we’ll leave, cook something delicious for dinner, otherwise Wonwoo will be that disappointed he’ll throw himself off the side of the ship and I’ll join him.” 

“You doubt my talent? Disrespectful.” Seokmin replies with fake anger, shaking the broken carrot at Soonyoung as he leaves, pulling Wonwoo with him.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

They enter a new room, the smell is on the other side of the spectrum from the kitchen. The room is clean, but there’s still a lingering scent of blood.

“Please don’t tell me you need stitches again.” Comes from the man sat at the desk. He closes his book and he brushes the hair out of the way of his face, eyes flickering between Soonyoung and Wonwoo.

“Excuse me doc, but it’s kind of your job to save me from death. Anyway, I’m here cause I’m showing Wonu around now that he’s free.” Soonyoung walks over and sits on the doctor’s desk, earning a frown in return.

Wonwoo hands the bowl to the doctor “I’m Wonwoo, Uh, Jun sends this?” With the absence of the bowl Wonwoo puts his hands in his pockets, trying to not present himself as awkward as he feels.

“Minghao.” The man pushes a small pair of round glasses up his nose and gives Wonwoo a polite smile. “I hope being Soonyoung’s new friend you will look after yourself. The amount of times I’ve had to stitch him up because he’s managed to slice his hand open with his own sword while doing ‘tricks’, is frankly a pain.”

“Hey! I haven’t lost a finger yet! So that means I’m doing something right!” Soonyoung wiggles his fingers. The image of missing fingers makes Wonwoo wince, making a mental note to stop Soonyoung from any future sword tricks that may take place.

“Not to worry, I have more sense than that.” Wonwoo replies, making Minghao chuckle.

The door opens, and man walks in. When he spots Wonwoo in his vision, he strides over to him, grabbing Wonwoo’s chin, moving his head around as he analyses his face.

“He is handsome. I thought Chan was pulling my leg when he told me there’s a man on board who could be on par with looks such as my own. Nice to meet you, I’m Jeonghan.” He lets go of Wonwoo’s face, making himself comfortable on the desk next to Soonyoung.

On par? Jeonghan is definitely handsome. Lengthy hair pulled into a ponytail, sleepy eyes, good cheekbones. Jeonghan is on a way higher level than Wonwoo in terms of attractiveness. Wonwoo’s… just Wonwoo.

“Um. Thank you? Wonwoo.” Wonwoo holds Jeonghan’s gaze. The man looks at Wonwoo with interest, raising his eyebrow.

“Oh, I’m well aware of who you are Wonwoo. The man who slapped the life out of Mingyu. Bit upset I didn’t witness it myself.”

Wonwoo lets the words slip out of his mouth before his brain had chance to process them.

“I don’t regret it, he deserved it for being the world’s biggest pervert.” He folds his arms.

Jeonghan throws his head back with laughter. Minghao speaks up “He’s not that bad, Wonwoo. I think you just had the unfortunate experience of meeting him while he was thinking with his dick.”

“You’re not the first person to say that to me. But I think I can make that decision for myself. It may be his ship but that doesn’t mean he’s top shit. I deserve a bit more respect than that.” Wonwoo sighs.

“Ha. I like you Wonwoo, do pop round whenever we’re not busy saving lives.” Jeonghan waves, as he makes himself comfortable on the patient bed.  
Is he going to sleep? Uh, okay, he is.

Soonyoung hops down from the desk, patting Minghao’s shoulder. “See you at dinner, Hao.”

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Climbing up to the main deck, Wonwoo shouts up to Soonyoung.

“What’s up with Jeonghan, what does he do?”

“He’s the surgeon, my boy.”

Noticing Wonwoo’s confusion, he continues.

“Yeah, I know what you’re thinking. He’s lazy as shit, but as soon as someone’s hurt, you can bet he’s the first one there to help you get back on your feet.” Soonyoung grabs Wonwoo’s hand helping him up.

He wasn’t kept in the cell long, but it feels like weeks since he last breathed in fresh air. He takes a deep breath, closing his eyes and letting the breeze tickle the back of his neck.

There’s a different kind of freedom you have sailing through the ocean. Sitting on that hill at home, he was free from his village, but that provided temporary relief. Standing here in this moment, it makes him feel light, there’s no weight on his shoulders, it just feels… right. He focuses on the sounds of the small waves clashing against the ship, it calms him in a way that he can’t describe.

“Soonyoung is he okay?”

Wonwoo’s eyes snap open.

Someone stands in front of him, a round face is close to his, looking at him with concern. Wonwoo lets out an unmanly squeak and moves back, clutching his chest.

“No one on this ship is ever okay, even you Seungkwan.” Soonyoung throws his arm round Wonwoo’s shoulder, pulling him back towards Seungkwan. “Wonwoo, this is my baby Seungkwan, great ass and has the voice of an angel.”

Seungkwan hits Soonyoung’s arm, making Soonyoung hiss and rub the sore spot. 

“You have your own boyfriend’s ass to compliment, Soonie. I may be delightful in every way but don’t cheat on Jihoon please.”

“Bold of you to assume that I don’t compliment his ass every time I see him, in more ways than just words.”

Both Wonwoo and Seungkwan gag, Seungkwan pretending to throw himself off the ship.

“KWANNIE DON’T DO IT!”

A man runs over and grabs Seungkwan around the middle, holding onto him tightly. 

“As if I would leave you alone on here with all these savages.” Seungkwan links their fingers.

“I take no offence to that. How’s it going Vernon? what’s the status with the ladder?” 

Watching Soonyoung interact with everyone makes Wonwoo feel like an outsider, there’s that bond they all have, friendships, relationships, which makes him wonder if he’ll ever get this comfortable on the ship before he leaves. What if they just reject him from their crew and Wonwoo’s forced to go back to the cell and live out the rest of his life throwing that pebble in the air?

“You really damaged it, Soonyoung not gonna lie. But it should be fixed by tomorrow.” Vernon glances at Wonwoo “This the new guy?”

“Aye, Wonwoo here’s a smart one, gonna be really helpful for Shua.” Soonyoung slaps him slightly too hard on his back.

“Hey brother. Vernon.”

Vernon reaches his free hand out to Wonwoo. Wonwoo grabs the hand to shake, but Vernon twists his hand round in multiple directions. Are all pirates this friendly? Or has he managed to be kidnapped by the least piratey- pirates possible?

“Hello-”

“As much as I love you guys I think Wonwoo here needs a break. Go and be all lovey dovey like you usually are.” Seungkwan rolls his eyes walking away hand in hand with Vernon.

“Is everyone on this ship together or?” Wonwoo watches the pirates leave, arms swinging between them.

“Not everyone, but Kwannie and Vernon are special, their love is the most pure. You see, Vernon’s only been with us for half a year now. We were in this city and Mingyu and Jihoon were doing business with the blacksmith while me, Kwannie and Seokmin went round the market. We had the usual lecture from Mingyu ‘Keep a low profile, don’t cause trouble, blah blah blah’, and we did, until Seungkwan spotted a man beating the shit out of this boy. We couldn’t just walk past that, so I went over and fought the bastard while Kwan and Seok carried the poor boy back to our ship. The man was obviously rich as fuck, shouting about how we can’t just take ‘his property’ and how he paid ‘good money for the boy’, so I knocked him the fuck out, sick bastard. Also took his jewellery and coins cause he probably had more than enough at home. Anyway, we get back to the ship and the boy passes out on us, Jeonghan cleaned up his wounds and Seungkwan decided that he was going to be responsible for him. It was weeks before he was comfortable enough to tell us his name: Vernon. Seungkwan stayed by his side at all possible opportunities, helped him find his place on the ship, made sure he ate, all of that stuff. We all knew there was something brewing between them, it was obvious they were falling in love. They always had to be touching, it was like if they separated, then they’d lose the other forever. It wasn’t long before they acted on their feelings. We were all on the deck, having a drink, Seungkwan began singing, like I told you- voice of an angel. You could see Vernon’s eyes shine as Seungkwan sang with his heart, everyone quiet as he finished the song. And then out of nowhere, Vernon pulled him forward, and just kissed him right there. Honestly, the moment was beautiful. They’ve been whipped for each other since. I just admire pure love like that.”

Wonwoo’s eyes are glassy, hearing that story made him realise how lucky he is, his life was easy before he was brought here. He could be here under completely different circumstances. Upon first seeing Vernon, Wonwoo wouldn’t have ever thought that he was a slave. Maybe Wonwoo should stop assuming things about people. 

Soonyoung pulls him into a hug, and Wonwoo lets the tears fall. He feels so out of place, it makes him feel like he doesn’t deserve this treatment, the pirates on the ship have been nothing but kind to him since he came here, and he’s put himself on a pedestal like he’s too good for them.

When he stops crying, Soonyoung wipes the stray tears lingering on his face. “ Come up here with me into my special space.” He points up to the crows nest, the highest point of the ship. Wonwoo feels sick looking up there. Soonyoung begins climbing up the rigging, encouraging Wonwoo as he slowly wobbles on the rope. They reach the top, Wonwoo shakily pulling himself onto the platform. Looking out into the sea takes the breath out of him. It’s so different from this perspective, you can see miles of water ahead, everyone on deck below looks minuscule, it makes him forget for a moment.

“Wonwoo, we’re family on this ship, the 12 of us. We all come from lonely places with our own traumas, but being together makes it easier to deal with.” Soonyoung holds up his hand. “You see this ring? All of us have one, worn on our little fingers, wearing them means we’re a team, a family, all of us have this bond. Mingyu gave them to us all when he wanted us to officially become a part of this family. I’m sorry for forcing you to come with us, I really am, now that I know you, you’re a pretty decent guy. Part of me feels like you’ll be happier here, though. I hope you feel comfortable enough to consider us friends eventually.” Soonyoung looks out in the distance, face calm, he looks different like this, without a smile on his face.

“Hey! Guys! Food’s ready!” Vernon shouts up to them.

“You must be hungry, Wonu, c’mon. On our way down Vern!”


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> FIRSTLY  
> im sorry this is so late! this dumb bitch got ill , and plus working, i had zero energy to write this,  
> this is a baby chapter, just scraping 2000 words, so i apologise for that, i will make up for it next chapter!
> 
> i keep getting random bursts of inspo for future chapters and im like behave! write this chapter first you goose! so i have a list of good (v good) content coming up in a few chapters so be ready lmao
> 
> also if you're reading this arosequartz i tried my best ! i am in no way philosophical irl so i hope this small interaction feeds you well enough for now lmao ly 
> 
> social media info is at the beginning of the first chapter if you want to chat!
> 
> love ya'll for reading

The dining room is chaotic: all tables filled with pirates stuffing their faces, bantering with each other and catching up after a days work.

Wonwoo is lead to the centre table, which is most noticeably the loudest. Soonyoung promptly leaves him and sits on the bench next to Jihoon and Wonwoo can’t help but feel awkward just stood next to them, too shy to ask to sit down.

“Move along and let the man sit down you pigs.” Jun hits Soonyoung on the side of his neck, making the man let out an exaggerated yelp, rubbing his neck as he shuffles along on the bench. Jun pushes him to sit. “Eat as much as you can, Wonwoo. If anyone tries to take your food just hit them. Enjoy.”

The dishes in front of him look delicious, the ability of the cooks are far better than he expected. The rainbow of ingredients makes Wonwoo’s mouth water, he doesn’t know where to start.

“You gonna eat anything?” comes from his left. The man, er, boy has a spoon in each hand, shoving food from 3 different bowls into his mouth.

“Uhhhh, yes?” Wonwoo grabs a bowl and scoops up a pitiful amount of pork and cabbage, most falling back into the dish.

“Do you need help old man?” he hears from his left again.

Wonwoo snaps his head around ready to retort, but then notices the sly smirk on the boy’s face, and decides to play with him a bit.

“Didn’t realise they let babies on pirate ships, where’s your mother?” 

The boy cackles, “I’ll have you know I’m an adult, dick.”

“Chan, you’ll be our baby till you’re 30, also, watch your fucking language. Hey Wonwoo, heard good things about you. Seungcheol, nice to meet ya.” He is sat directly in front Wonwoo, soft gummy smile and long eyelashes framing warm eyes. He takes Wonwoo’s bowl and fills it up with various foods, then hands the bowl back to him.

“Oh, uh thank you. What do you guys do here?” 

“Me n Channie are the gunners, we basically deal with all the weaponry, you ever wanna learn any anything, just ask.” Seungcheol smiles widely, as if he hadn’t just told Wonwoo he’s an expert in handling all things destructive.

Wonwoo nods, feeling slightly intimidated. Scooping up a small amount of pork to taste, he moans at the juiciness, the tenderness, the slight barbecued taste. Ignoring the snickers from the rest of the table he continues eating. “Fuck me, this is delicious.” he says with his cheeks stuffed. 

Soonyoung cracks up, suppressing his laughter into his hand.“Do you need everyone to leave the room Wonwoo? Oh hey Mingyu, hey Josh.”

At the mention of Mingyu, Wonwoo freezes. He looks up and the captain is stood at the other side of the table looking down at Wonwoo, a man next to him who he can only assume is ‘Josh’. Wonwoo feels his cheeks heat up, and he swallows the food in his mouth. Exactly how long had they been stood there? Why is he even bothered by embarrassing himself in front of Mingyu, he certainly didn’t care about the rest of the pirate’s presences. He reminds himself to think about that more later. Mingyu squeezes onto the bench next to Seungcheol despite there being little space.

“There are plenty of spaces at the table, did you really have to sit in that particular spot, ‘Gyu?” Seungcheol pouts, getting up off the bench, but instead is pulled onto Jeonghan’s lap, the long-haired man hugging him from behind.

“I’m the captain, I can sit where I please.” Mingyu pouts and helps himself to the food in front of him.

The answer makes Wonwoo roll his eyes, using your power to get your own way, he’s honestly an overgrown child.

“Bullshit. We all know you’d sit anywhere, you just want Won-, OUCH, what the fuck Mingyu!” Seungkwan reaches down and rubs his foot, scowling at the captain.

“Well, seeing as you’re sitting in the prime spot, it’s only fair Shua gets to sit here too, I’ve got my lap full at the moment.” Jeonghan pushes Mingyu further down the bench, letting Joshua sit. Wonwoo changes his mind, they’re all children, amusing but incredibly frustrating to watch.

“Thank you, Hannie.” Joshua looks at Wonwoo with sweet eyes. “I believe you’re Wonwoo, I’m Joshua, as you’ve probably heard. I’ve been told you write?”

“Uh, yeah. It’s my passion. My mother taught me, so it’s very important to me.” Wonwoo feels awkward with the focus on him, feeling silly talking about himself like this.

“That’s lovely. After this, if you’re not busy, we can go and talk about it some more if you’d like?” When Joshua finishes speaking, Seungcheol holds a spoon of food in front of his mouth, feeding him. Joshua eats the food and smiles at him as thanks. The moment is soft, even with the other pirates causing trouble around them.

“I’d love that thank you.” Wonwoo nods, continuing to eat while the other men on the table chat, not noticing a certain pair of eyes on him.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

They all sit holding their stomachs, stuffed from the feast, the dishes on the table empty. Wonwoo feels content and ready to go into a food coma if he doesn’t move in the next five minutes.

“Let’s go, Wonwoo, before we lose you for the night.” Joshua stands, caressing Jeonghan and then Seungcheol’s cheeks with his hand, as a goodbye. Wonwoo also stands, turning to say goodbye to Soonyoung, but noticing his head is in Jihoon’s lap, eyes closed as he dozes. The men leave, saying goodbye to the whole group, getting mumbled words as a response.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Joshua opens the door to the room, and Wonwoo could honestly say he’s in love: There’s a large table in the centre of the room covered in books, papers, and maps. More maps nailed onto the walls, a shelf filled with worn books, a chest of drawers, a desk holding countless paints, quills, ink. He’s in awe.

“This is where we plan our journeys, transcribe, draw maps, you understand. Usually it’s just me in here seeing as everyone else has their own duties to perform, but sometimes Mingyu will be in here planning things.”

“He can read?” Wonwoo questions.

“Unfortunately not, although it would make things easier if he did. I help him with things like that, explaining notes I’ve written on certain countries and cities, to make it easier for him to plan on this map.” Joshua brings Wonwoo’s attention to the large map on the wall: he notices it’s not fully complete, but it’s covered in markings and notes some parts of the map circled in red.

“Why isn’t it complete? And what do these markings mean?” Wonwoo is intrigued by the map.

“I’ve only painted as far as we’ve travelled at this point. It gets updated whenever we are able to acquire maps from merchants or things we’ve been told, so it’s not completely accurate, but it’s quite close, I hope. We mark safe territories like this, you know, places that won’t fight us on sight for being who we are. The red means enemy territory, we avoid these places as much as we can. I’ll explain all the rest another time. If you look here, Wonwoo, your village, that we uh, ransacked, I’m sorry about that, is roughly around here.” He puts his finger on the edge of a tiny green spot on the map, and only then does it occur to Wonwoo how insignificant he is in this world.

“It’s unbelievable to think about how large the whole world is. How much more there is to explore.” Wonwoo feels overwhelmed.

“Of course, we’re young, but I sometimes have thoughts: will we ever travel to every country, travel through every sea, see every star before we die?” Joshua runs his hand through his hair, clearly as deep in thought as Wonwoo is.

“Back home, the whole village was my world, my one wish was to leave and move to a city. I didn’t think about what city, how I would do it, knowing nothing about the culture.”……

The men get lost in conversation, thoughts and words opening up doors to other possibilities. Only halting when Wonwoo yawns, eyelids feeling heavy.

“Well, Wonwoo, I’m aware you were forced onto this ship, but if you don’t end up running as far as possible from us when we next stop, you’re more than welcome to travel with us.”

Wonwoo leans back on his chair and rubs his eyes. He thinks back to this morning, where all he considered was escaping, freeing himself from being prisoner to these heartless pirates, but, he doesn’t feel like that’s something he wants any more. He’s drawn to the possibilities of what could inspire him, what he could discover and experience, the freedom of not settling in one city. A completely different life. The company isn’t too bad either.

“Yeah, I think I’d like that.” Wonwoo’s tone is certain, and his smile is soft. 

“Fantastic. As is said, we can talk about more what you’d do here tomorrow, but for now, I think our minds need a rest. And don’t worry, I see you eyeing up my collection of books. I’ll pick out the good ones for you. C’mon lets get you to bed.” Joshua grabs his hands and pulls him up.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Every other room is full, so you’ll be sharing with Chan.”

Wonwoo is just glad to finally be able to sleep in a bed, thinking of the dirty cell floor makes him shudder.

“Why isn’t he here sleeping too?” Wonwoo notices the lack of the boy in the room.

“Ship can’t control herself all night, Wonwoo. He’s probably gonna be working during the night for a few days. We take turns every week, a few of us keeping watch at night in case of emergencies. Chan must have drawn the short straw this week, but I happen to think the ship’s aura is more beautiful at night. Any way, hope you sleep well, all our rooms are close by each other, so if you need anything, we’ll all be happy to help you out.” Joshua turns to leave, only to blush and look back at Wonwoo.

“Er, make sure to knock before you go into someone’s room, as nice as most of us are, a few people are... not so er… pure when in their rooms. You get what I’m saying?”

Joshua’s statement confuses Wonwoo at first, but he slowly understands when he sees Joshua’s pink cheeks, his own going scarlet. 

“Yeah, I get you. Thank you, Joshua, I’ll see you tomorrow.” Joshua leaves and the awkward tension disappears. 

Chan’s side of the room is a tip, his bed unmade, spare clothes in a pile next to his bed. Wonwoo resists the urge to clean it up, and gets into his own new bed. His back clicks as he rests: The bed is in no means luxurious, the blanket thin, but it’s miles better than sleeping on a dirty floor, and Wonwoo is grateful. He feels his eyes fall shut, mind drifting off, finally sleeping after a long day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> piratey action soon maybe HMMMMMMMM


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> howdy lovelies it is i, gobline supreme back with another chapter   
> im not 100% happy with the way i've written this one, but who cares as long as you guys like it lmao
> 
> the beginnings of meanie... hmmmmMMMM, enjoy it while you can lol 
> 
> GIVE HIM A CHANCE WONWOO (ノಠ益ಠ)ノ彡┻━┻
> 
> i also accidentally deleted the whole chapter and ive never felt more sick like i spent ages trying to get it back and cause im a caveman with technology i had to get help lmao, and as you can see by me posting this we were successful
> 
> feel free to chat w/ me!

Wonwoo, for the first time in days, wakes up to total silence.

He lays on his back and stares up at the dull wooden planks lining the ceiling. He doesn’t know what time it is, but it seems too quiet to be time to get up. He looks over at Chan’s bed; the kid is on his stomach, blanket barely covering him as his right arm and leg hang off of the bed. His head faces away from Wonwoo, it must be morning then, it won’t hurt to get up earlier.

Pulling the blanket off of himself, he winces at the breeze in the room. He toes on his shoes and takes slow steps towards the door, not wanting to wake Chan.

Closing the door behind him, he’s unsure of where to actually go, he’s always had someone to take him where he needed to go, and with Joshua’s warnings… yeah, he wants to avoid bothering someone when they’re, uh, occupied. He’ll just wander and try and learn his way around, he’ll have to eventually.

Stood outside of his room, he thinks he remembers walking down this hallway? Doors either side of the long stretch of hallway, good place to start. 

He comes to a ladder and climbs up it, coming to another plain hallway. He sighs, if every floor looks like this, he’s never gonna see light again. Every door he passes looks the same, except… this one. It’s separated from the others.

He opens the door slowly, and comes into a large room, but immediately halts his movement. There’s a large bed in the centre of the room, and there’s someone in it. He can’t tell who it is, but he’s not gonna wait for them to wake up and see him stood there like a creep. Wonwoo takes a step back, putting all his weight onto a loose floorboard, inwardly cringing as it creaks loudly. The man on the bed pushes himself onto resting on one arm looking at Wonwoo stood at the door. Mingyu squints at Wonwoo, rubbing his eyes to wake up. The blanket covering Mingyu slides down with his movement, revealing his bare chest and hips, and Wonwoo feels himself blush. 

“Wonwoo? Is that you?” Mingyu’s voice is husky.

Wonwoo says nothing and bolts out the room, closing the door behind him. His heart beats wildly, trying to rid the sight of Mingyu from his mind.

“Wonwoo? It’s early, why are you outside of Mingyu’s room? Something you wanna tell me?” Jun is in front of him, smirking at Wonwoo, with raised eyebrows.

“Fuck off. I got lost and accidentally went into his room. I was trying to get the the main deck, but I have no idea where to go.” Wonwoo glares at Jun.

“Okay, I’ll pretend I didn’t see you here. I’m about to go prepare breakfast, you can come help if you want?” 

Wonwoo nods desperately. “Please save me.”

Jun hooks their arms together and walks them both to the kitchen.

☆━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━☆

After breakfast, Wonwoo finds himself back in the map room. Soonyoung is sat with him as Wonwoo attempts to read books left by Joshua.

“Wonwoo, I’m bored, you’ve been reading forever, I want to go outside, come onnnnnnnn.” Soonyoung pouts when Wonwoo ignores him, turning the page of the book in his hands, continuing to read.

Soonyoung drapes himself over Wonwoo’s back while he sits in the chair, poking his cheeks and messing with his hair.

“Please, Wonu, entertain me, I don’t even care if you read aloud to me, can we just do it outside. I can’t even breathe in here it smells like boring.” Soonyoung gets no response again, so he licks Wonwoo’s cheek.

“What the fuck, Soonyoung?!” Wonwoo drops his book, and rubs the saliva off his cheek, gagging. Wonwoo looks at Soonyoung’s smile, and is beyond disgusted at what the pirate had just done. “If you promise to never do that again, I’ll come outside with you.” 

Soonyoung beams at him, pulling him up. “Yeah, yeah, come on!”

Wonwoo rolls his eyes, and lets himself be dragged out of the room.

☆━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━☆

The sun’s rays are hot, no clouds in the pure blue sky to block the bright light shining down on the ship. It looks like a dream. Soonyoung takes him to the some crates on the main deck, they’re as long as Wonwoo himself and Soonyoung makes himself comfortable, shedding his shirt.

“Oh look, they must be practising today. JIHOONIE! YOU LOOK SEXY TODAY!” Soonyoung shouts over to his lover, who is also shirtless and pulling knives from a wooden target. Soonyoung gets the finger in return, and blows a kiss before he lays down on the crate, closing his eyes. Wonwoo rolls his eyes and sits on the end of the crate by Soonyoung’s feet. He forces Wonwoo to come outside to entertain him and he immediately abandons him to sunbathe. Wonwoo might as well soak up some of the sun while he’s here, no point going back inside.

Another knife hits the target, the thud catching Wonwoo’s attention. This time it’s not Jihoon who pulls the knife out. Mingyu pulls the knife from deep inside the wood, and only then, does Wonwoo realise the lack of shirt on the man. He watches Mingyu walk back to Jihoon and say something, handing him the knife, and bending down to pick up, an… axe… Christ.

Mingyu stands in front of the target and gets into position to throw. His honey skin is shiny with sweat, from both the sun and the intense practice. Wonwoo’s eyes zone to his chest, a bead of sweat rolls down between Mingyu’s pecs down to his chocolate abs, only stopping at the waistline of Mingyu’s slacks. Wonwoo gapes at the man, it’s not just the sun that’s making him hot- if Wonwoo was close enough he could trace the lines of his muscles with his finger, lick the bead of sweat off of his collar bone… 

Mingyu lifts his arm, biceps bulging as he holds the axe up. Wonwoo can’t breathe, waiting for him to throw. Mingyu’s muscles tense; he throws the axe, letting it fly towards the target. It hits the target cleanly, hitting the red splotch of paint in the centre. Wonwoo gasps quietly, amazed at the skill of the pirate. He looks back at Mingyu, who’s running his hand through his hair smiling at Jihoon, muscles stretching, Wonwoo swallowing the saliva in his mouth.

“If you’re gonna drool over Mingyu, you could try to be a tad less obvious, Wonwoo.” Soonyoung’s voice snaps Wonwoo out of his trance.

“I’m not drooling over him. I’m glaring at his obnoxious display, and he definitely only has his shirt off because he just wants everyone to notice his huge fuck off muscles.” Wonwoo folds his arms, turning his head to Soonyoung, who is laid on his side, looking up at Wonwoo with his eyebrows raised.

“Yeah, for some reason I don’t believe you.” Soonyoung teases Wonwoo, poking him in the side with his leg, making Wonwoo hit him. Wonwoo pouts, and Soonyoung schemes, the perfect idea popping into his head.

“HEY HOONIE, MINGYU! WONWOO WANTS YOU TO TEACH HIM HOW TO DO THAT.” Soonyoung watches Wonwoo go stiff, head snapping towards his, and he gives him the dirtiest glare.

“What. Are. You. Doing. I have no desire to learn anything of that sort.” Wonwoo whispers towards Soonyoung as he is pulled towards the target.

“You’ll have to learn to defend yourself eventually. Just do it.” He winks at Wonwoo. “ Hmmmmmm, Jihoonie’s gonna spar with me. So I guess Mingyu will have to teach you Wonwoo, have fun!” Soonyoung walks away with Jihoon, leaving Wonwoo with Mingyu, and Wonwoo has never felt so many emotions at once. Firstly, Wonwoo is gonna beat the shit out of Soonyoung for putting him in this situation. Secondly, he’s with Mingyu, who felt him up and treated him like a prostitute, therefore, Wonwoo hates his guts. And thirdly, Mingyu is a five feet away from him, still very sweaty and his muscles… still very there. He’s gonna breakdown.

“You don’t have to learn anything if you don’t want to.” Mingyu speaks, and Wonwoo meets his eyes. Mingyu looks shyly at him, a complete turn from his previously cocky demeanour. And Wonwoo is shocked by Mingyu’s words - Wonwoo could just leave, like Mingyu said he doesn’t have to learn anything. But… Soonyoung did say he’d have to defend himself some day, and he has nothing else to do…

“No, it’s okay, I don’t mind learning something new.” Mingyu smiles and turns to grab the knives, giving Wonwoo a delightful view of his toned back.

“Um, okay, so we’ll do it closer to the target seeing as it’s your first time. So if you hold the knife like this, yeah that’s it. Face the target directly and lift the knife up in position to throw. Wait there, you’re stood wrong.” Mingyu stands behind him, and puts his hands on Wonwoo’s hips and pulls him to stand at the right angle. Wonwoo holds his breath at the contact, the presence of Mingyu behind him making him nervous. Mingyu lets go and moves away. 

“Okay, so now focus on the target, and when you feel ready, you throw.”

Wonwoo breathes deeply, feeling the pressure of Mingyu’s eyes on him. He throws the knife, and it scratches the wood before falling the the ground. Wonwoo huffs.

“Good attempt for your first go at it. It’ll take a long while before you’ll be at my level.” 

Be at his level? Of course he thinks he’s top shit. Wonwoo’s not gonna stay around to hear him talk more about how great he is.

“Thank you for your help, please never offer it again.” Wonwoo hands him the knife and makes his way into the ship, leaving Mingyu stood alone and confused.

☆━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━☆

“I don’t get how he can be so full of himself, I really don’t know how any of you can deal with him on a daily basis.” Wonwoo rants to Joshua, who listens patiently.

“Wonwoo, I think you’re being a bit harsh on him. With Mingyu, he tends to not think about the impact his words will have. He probably didn’t mean to offend you with what he said, after all, that was literally the first time you had tried throwing a knife.” 

Wonwoo hates that he sounds so reasonable. 

“Well don’t you think he should think more about what he says, and then he wouldn’t say such stupid things.” Wonwoo knows his argument is weak, but he just needs to let out his frustrations.

“Remember that you’re on his ship Wonwoo, if he was really that bad, he could have had you still kept in that cell. Don’t you think he deserves more than you being hostile at every moment you interact? You don’t have to be his best friend, but at least be civil. And before I forget, I was asked to make you this. Was told you’ll need the help.” Joshua hands him a few sheets of paper- a map of the ship. Detailed diagrams of the route to to his room, the kitchen, the top deck. A lot of effort went into this.

“Thank you, this is really thoughtful. I know Jun helped me out this morning, I’ ll have to thank him later.” Wonwoo flicks through the few sheets- one for each floor respectively, there’s even cute little illustrations for each room.

“Jun? He didn’t ask me to do this?” Joshua furrows his eyebrows, genuinely confused at Wonwoo’s statement.

“But who else would?”

“Mingyu came to me after breakfast, said you got lost this morning and asked if I’d make you a map to help you find your way around. He did those cute little pictures on them actually.” Joshua smiles knowingly, folding his arms, leaning back in his chair. Watching Wonwoo tense.

“Oh.” Wonwoo looks at the sketch of his room on the map. Labelled ‘Wonwoo & Chan’ with a small quill drawn next to a cannon. Mingyu drew these? Wonwoo feels like shit. He groans in defeat, rubbing his temples. Mingyu genuinely did something nice for him, and Wonwoo was a complete dick towards him. 

But, even though he did one good thing for Wonwoo, but that doesn’t excuse his behaviour when they met. He’s torn about what to think about him. He should probably start with giving him an apology when they next meet. And like Joshua said, the least he could do is be civil with the man.

“I’m sorry. I’ll try my best to be friendly with him, even if he’s an obnoxious cock.” 

Joshua chuckles. “ Okay, Wonwoo.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> all you regular commenters i actually love all of you, and those who don't want to comment but are still enjoying the fic i love you too


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> LOL it's been 3 days and here i am posting again even though i said once a week, ive decided i dont really care anymore when i post as long as its the very LEAST once a week, that okay with yall?
> 
> y'all where can i get someone like Jeonghan irl tho?
> 
> i was making an overall plan for this fic and yall... you ready for some idol group interaction? who knows what their role could be here hmmmm ( who knows when ill get to that point cause this is burning v slow but i guess when everyone goes off youll thank me later) 
> 
> @ksjmygjhsknj on twitter bois

Wonwoo’s been avoiding Mingyu.

He knows he said he would talk to him and apologise, but after Joshua’s words- he’s embarrassed. He told himself that he wouldn’t just stereotype and assume, but when he’s around Mingyu, he doesn’t think before he speaks, instantly going into defence mode.

Since speaking with Joshua, he’s been hiding in his room reading the same 3 books, cleaning up the few items actually in the room, sometimes chatting with Chan when he comes to the room to chill.

He most likely would have stayed here and starved to death if it wasn’t for the kind pirates bringing him his meals three times a day, all asking him to come out of his room.

This time it’s Jeonghan who comes by with his meal. He’s sits on Chan’s bed holding the bowl, looking at Wonwoo, but not saying anything, his gaze making Wonwoo incredibly uncomfortable.

“Thank you for bringing me dinner, Jeonghan.” Wonwoo hopes that this is what the surgeon was waiting for before giving him the bowl.

“You’re not getting anything, this is my meal.” Jeonghan brings the bowl to his mouth and drinks the thick broth, holding eye contact with Wonwoo as he does it. The steam makes its way to Wonwoo’s nostrils and it smells heavenly. He desperately wants a taste, but if Jeonghan’s just going to taunt him, he doesn’t care. He opens his book and continues reading, trying to appear unbothered by the man’s presence, reading the same line at the top of the page over and over again.

There’s more silence, and then Jeonghan places the bowl on the ground and scoffs.

“You’re not being very convincing , you do know that Wonwoo? I know you’re hungry, and if you want to eat, get out of this mood you’re in and come up to the dining room, everyone misses you.”

“I’m not hungry, still full from lunch, so, you can go now.” Wonwoo becomes irritated with the man, breathing deeply through his nose, waiting for Jeonghan to give up and leave.

“Right. I thought you were better than this Wonwoo. So, I’m going to give you two options. You can either starve- no one will bother you, seeing as that’s what you apparently want. Or, you can get your ass up out of this room and act like an adult. And of course you’re hungry, don’t bullshit me. We can all sense this ridiculous tension between yourself and Mingyu. Whatever happened, we don’t care! But, it’s affecting all of us- Mingyu especially- I’ve never seen him look more like a kicked puppy.I’ll not have our crew become shambles because you’re in a mood. So I suggest you choose option two Wonwoo, ‘cause no hard feelings, but this is my family, and if you don’t stop acting like you’re better than all of us, I’ll get rid of you myself. You’ve got one minute before I walk out of this room.” Jeonghan’s tone is calm, no anger sensed in his words, which makes it all the more threatening. Soonyoung was right about Jeonghan: he’s lazy, friendly, chilled, but Wonwoo does not want to experience his wrath.

Jeonghan’s words cut into Wonwoo, he really does need to get his shit together. He’s living here for free, without anyone forcing him to actually do anything, and here he is, sulking like a child.

He knows the time is counting down, and he believes Jeonghan would follow through with his words, so he sighs, putting his book down on his pillow, and stands.

“Second option, please.”

Jeonghan claps his hands together, previously bored expression morphing into a fake toothy smile, and gets up to walk out the room, not looking back to check Wonwoo is actually following him.

“ Good choice, Wonwoo, I knew you were smart enough to know what’s good for you. Everyone’s waiting for you.”

Everyone? Shit, he feels awful. Soonyoung, Jun, Seokmin, all of them, they deserve better than to deal with Wonwoo being stubborn and bratty. Mingyu… still needs an apology. He suddenly feels gross, not leaving his room… he has no idea how shitty he looks.

“Jeonghan?” The man in front hums. “Do I look okay?” The pirate stops walking, spinning around with a Cheshire grin, eyebrows raised.

“And why do you need to look ‘okay’? Someone caught your fancy perhaps? Hmm?”

“Shut up, of course not. I’m just attentive of my own personal hygiene and care that’s all.” Wonwoo avoids his eyes, feeling like Jeonghan’s making his own assumptions.

“You’re a really bad liar. Not going to lie, you could look better.” Wow, thanks, Jeonghan. The man parts Wonwoo’s hair with his fingers, and licks his thumb, wiping dirt from his cheekbone. Wonwoo grimaces, that’s gross. He looks Wonwoo over, judging him one last time before unbuttoning half of Wonwoo’s shirt. “That’s good enough, but, don’t think I’ll forget about this.” Wonwoo’s always had his shirt buttoned fully his whole life, and now, he just feels a bit silly with his chest exposed. But, he chooses not to button the shirt back up, he wanted a different life, he might as well try a new look.

☆━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━☆

Coming closer to the table, their upcoming presence is noticed immediately, all on the table going silent one after the other like dominoes. Jeonghan sits with a devious smile, as if everything is normal, leaving the last space on the table next to none other than… Mingyu… great. Remembering what he decided earlier he needs to. Suck. It. Up. His brief pep talk lasts him until he reaches the other side of the bench, facing reality as he has all eyes on him.

“Thank you for waiting for me.” Wonwoo briefly flickers his eyes around the table, acknowledging everyone. He grabs his bowl and spoon and begins eating, even if everyone else isn’t.

“Um, bold choice with the shirt Wonwoo. You come onto this ship looking like a pathetic virgin, and now you disappear for two days and emerge looking like a sinful siren. Not sure we should keep you on this ship for our own safety.” Chan looks Wonwoo up and down, clearly judging Jeonghan’s fashion choices.

Wonwoo’s ears turn red, filling his mouth with food, avoiding responding to the questionable compliment.

“Uh, Chan, you're the biggest virgin here, so who are you to judge Wonwoo’s pure asshole?” Seungkwan snickers as Chan throws him the finger, glaring holes into Seungkwan.

“Oh, so you’re finally admitting you’ve finally fucked Vernon?” Vernon spits out his drink, while Seungkwan sputters, trying to find the right words to deny Chan’s accusation. “And anyway, how do you know if Wonwoo’s asshole is pure? Lets just ask him.” Chan turns to Wonwoo, who’s cheeks as well as his ears are inflamed.

He’s surely older than half the people on the table, he shouldn’t be intimidated!

He clears his throat. “ It’s actually none of your business, but, if you’ll stop talking about my asshole for one moment, I’d be able to tell you that my asshole has in fact, been more than deflowered. So if you will, please eat the food before it gets cold.” Wonwoo refuses to look at anyone, feeling Mingyu’s thigh tense against his.

There’s a chorus of laughter, groans, and “Ew’s” at Wonwoo’s response. It only just occurs to Wonwoo what he had just shared with these pirates. Other than informing that he likes it up the ass, he also just told them he’s nasty as fuck.

He closes his eyes and sighs. He told them what they wanted to hear, and now the table is it’s regular chaotic self, all involved in their own conversations.

Wonwoo slurps on his broth, feeling more comfortable now that he’s surrounded by all his new friends (Well, he hopes ‘friends’). But, there’s a reason he’s here. He side eyes the man next to him. Mingyu is quiet, scooping the carrots from his bowl back into the pot. Now or never, he supposes.

“You should eat your vegetables, you know.” He gets no response from the captain, who tenses at Wonwoo’s attempt to talk.

“Mingyu.” Wonwoo tries again. Wonwoo glares and pouts at his bowl. He’s fucking trying, and if Mingyu’s gonna ignore him, Wonwoo’s gonna talk to the invisible wall between them, no one can tell him that he didn’t try. Yes, he can feel Jeonghan’s eyes on him.

“Fine, don’t talk to me. I just wanted to apologise to you. My behaviour towards you was rude and disrespectful, and you deserve more respect than that. Even though you definitely don’t deserve it for being a pervert. Whether you accept my apology or not I don’t care, thank you.” Wonwoo is beyond frustrated.

“You don’t need to apologise Wonwoo. I can understand your… dislike towards me. I just felt like it was best for both of us if we just didn’t speak at all. I’ll probably never be able to ever fully apologise for my actions, but, I’d like it if we started again, turn our cheeks.” Wonwoo turns to Mingyu, he looks at him with wide eyes, his lower lip protruding. This captain… is really pouting. Jeonghan was right, he really does look like a kicked puppy. Speaking of, he knows if he doesn’t just accept him apology, Jeonghan will probably remove his liver while he sleeps. He rolls his eyes, and scoops up a spoonful of the broth, bringing it to Mingyu’s face.

“Eat your vegetables, and I’ll forgive you. You’re not allowed to die because you eat like a child.”

Mingyu looks repulsed at the lumps of orange on the spoon. “But I don’t want to, they’re disgusting.”

“Eat. It. Up. Do you not want to be friends.?” He pushes the spoon closer. He watches Mingyu consider his words, eyes flickering to look at Wonwoo before back to the spoon. Finally deciding to move his head forwards, eating the food off of Wonwoo’s spoon, instantly regretting his actions, but swallowing the food with a grimace. 

“Wasn’t so hard was it? I suppose we’re friends now.” If Mingyu had a tail, it would be swinging wildly, his canines prominent in his smile. And this man is captain?

Mingyu, now out of his sulk, begins talking to Minghao. Wonwoo finishes his meal, feeling lighter now that this is all over. He looks up and Jeonghan’s looking at him, silently telling Wonwoo that he definitely saw what just happened, cheshire smile returning. Wonwoo resists the urge to give him the finger, instead calling over Soonyoung.

“Hey, I missed you, wanna go and talk somewhere?” Soonyoung beams at him, pulling Wonwoo out of the room, not saying goodbye to the rest of the men.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> appreciate you all so much u dont even know


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey..... i'm not dead  
> how dare i leave this a month between updates?????  
> never become an adult you're tired 97% of the time, been at work loads getting those sick moneys for next month when i go see bts oooof  
> i hope this chapter redeems me for disappearing for a month uwu ;)  
> will not deprive y'all of some sick pirate action so here u go  
> send me good kpop memes on twitter https://twitter.com/ksjmygjhsknj  
> those of you that still love me i love you more <3

Wonwoo feels himself settling in well. Days have gone by quickly, he keeps himself occupied, helping out where it's needed, learning new skills- he's happy.

He sits with Vernon on the top deck, dark night sky calm. Wonwoo had the unfortunate luck of drawing the short straw at breakfast, along with Vernon and others, they had the night duty; watching over the Carat, preparing for the next day. His eyes try to adjust to the lack of light, moving the lantern closer to him. They've been tasked with doing the jobs no one else really wanted to do, they've already done the dishes, and now Vernon is attempting to teach Wonwoo how to knot the ropes correctly.

"We call this a reef knot. It's actually pretty easy. Copy what I do."

Vernon twists the rope around quickly, forming the knot, leaving Wonwoo squinting and confused.

"Uh... Can you do that again, but extremely slowly please?"

"Oh, yeah, sorry about that. Okay, er, do a loop, okay, now another..."

The two men sit and make their way through the large pile between them, the calm sea carrying them as they work.

"I, um, I've done the majority of the ones we have here, so I'll just go get the rest quickly while you finish yours."

Wonwoo looks at the neat pile by Vernon's feet: multiple expertly knotted ropes, and then to his pile of two wonky knots. Frustrated at his sad attempt, he pouts. He nods at Vernon, who smiles, and then pauses, momentarily forgetting what he was originally going to do. Cute, Wonwoo thinks, the boy awkwardly laughing before walking away, leaving Vernon with the sad looking rope in his hands.

☆━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━☆

Sitting alone on the top deck is a beautiful experience; he breathes in the salty sea air, closing his eyes, appreciating the peaceful aura surrounding the ship. He loses focus on the task at hand, instead absentmindedly wrapping the rope around his hand.

Heavy footsteps approach. Wonwoo doesn't turn, expecting Vernon, and continues to pretend he knows what he's doing with the rope.

"You're not anywhere near doing that right."

The voice makes Wonwoo roll his eyes. Looking up at the captain's face, he's greeted with his goofy smirk, and Wonwoo holds in the urge to sigh. They may not be on bad terms anymore, but that doesn't stop Mingyu from making it his personal quest to bother Wonwoo at all moments possible.

"How do you know what I'm trying to do with this rope? I'll have you know I'm tying a noose to end my suffering and escape from you."

Mingyu lets out a soft chuckle, sitting down with Wonwoo. He holds out his left hand, gesturing towards the rope by Wonwoo's feet.

"I'll show you the easy way to do it."

Easy way??? Wonwoo throws the rope into his hand, waiting for Mingyu to use the opportunity to show off again.

But, to his surprise, Mingyu is patient with him: showing him step by step how to do the knot. Every time Wonwoo does a step correctly, Mingyu smiles, and he can't help but return the gesture. He feels himself understanding the method more as he's guided, and he finds that it's actually pretty easy.

"Oh. Hey Gyu? Shouldn't you be resting?" Vernon waddles over to them, crate in his arms, full of assorted ropes, his chin resting on the top of the pile.

"Don't worry about me, I've laid down a bit already. Hey, why don't you leave the crate with us and go get your head down, I'm sure Seungkwan's missing you."

Vernon places the ropes down, and looks between Wonwoo and Mingyu, hesitant to leave, going to turn and walk, but stopping himself. "You sure? I mean no, I should stay and finish my work, budge up." He tries to squeeze next to Mingyu, only to be flicked on the forehead, making him yelp and rub his head.

"Get yourself to bed. Me and Wonwoo can get through this no problem. Now go, Captain's orders."

As soon as Vernon turns- awkwardly skipping as he makes his way off the deck- Mingyu grabs a chunk of ropes from the crate and continues knotting them, giving Wonwoo a quick quirk of his lips when he feels his eyes on him.

He really can't figure Mingyu out: One moment he's a complete pervert, the next he's kind, then the next he's a dick, and now he does this? Mingyu isn't on the night shift this week, he should be in bed like Vernon said, but here he is, selflessly taking Vernon's place for the night. It makes him wonder about his Captain status. All interactions he's witnessed, there wasn't that much of a power dynamic, everyone treats each other like they would a friend. He'll have to ask around about it at some point. Speaking of...

"I've never really had an opportunity to properly thank you for having that map made for me. It's been really useful to me."

"It was no problem. Not watching people sleep anymore hmm?"

Wonwoo tenses, ears flushing. He's not gonna let Mingyu win this one.

" Not my fault. Thought your room was the toilet, turns out i was right, there was a huge piece of shit on the bed."

Mingyu barks with laughter, chest moving with his chuckles, mumbling words Wonwoo can't quite make out. 

☆━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━☆

The pair sit in comfortable silence for a while, just enjoying the presence of the other as they empty the crate. The horizon in front of them changes into a warm umber as the sun begins to show it's face. This goes unnoticed by Wonwoo, who is too focused on his task until he reaches for a new rope, only to grip onto nothing. Looking up in confusion he notices the sky, and gasps at it's beauty.

"Have you had any time to write? I can see your hand twitching."

Mingyu looks at his, and all Wonwoo can focus on is the light shining off of his eyes: the orange tones in the sky compliment his chocolate irises. Warm. Mingyu raises his eyebrow, snapping Wonwoo out of his thoughts.

"Uh, I haven't actually had the chance, not to mention I haven't got anything to write in. I din't really have a chance to bring any of my things onto the ship."

"I'm so sorry about that Wonwoo, I really am. Please forgive me." Mingyu genuinely looks ashamed, Wonwoo almost feels sorry for him.

"It's okay, I quite like it here."

Mingyu's face brightens. " Oh! You know what? I might have some books you can have? That's if you want them, they're a bit shabby and old, you're probably used to better than that, you won't want them, actually I'll go see Hao and see if-"

" Really??! Please! I mean I'd love to have them, if that's okay?"

Mingyu is shocked at Wonwoo's outburst, he looks at Wonwoo, analysing to see a hidden layer of sarcasm, but only sees a wide smile. He likes Wonwoo like this.

"Sure, lets take this down and we can go grab them from my room."

☆━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━☆

Mingyu opens the door to his room, and Wonwoo gets flashes of tan skin. He nips himself to banish the thought from his memory.

Now, under different circumstances, he gets to look around the room clearly. The bed in the centre is the same as he remembers, covered in the soft cotton blanket that covered Mingyu. Other than the bed the only other piece of furniture is a desk against the far wall, which Mingyu is currently raking through. It's pretty similar to the meeting room desk.

"Yes! Right, some are pretty sad looking, but there's two here. If you find pages already used just tear them out . Come here, have a go and write something then."

Mingyu pulls him to the chair, putting a quill in his hand. He hovers next to Wonwoo, buzzing like an excited child. He's not sure what to write under the pressure. The heavy breath next to his ear gives him an idea:

' His eyes are sweet like chocolate. '

He dots the full stop, and Mingyu gasps behind him.

"It looks so nice and swirly. What does it say?"

Wonwoo reads it aloud.

"I wish I could think of such beautiful things to write, heck, wish I could write."

"You could if you wanted, write underneath what I wrote, just copy the lines yeah?" 

He gives the quill to Mingyu, and watches him copy the words, all the lines shaky and wobbly, some letters are more clear than others.

"See? You don't know how to write, but you are capable of it." He turns to face Mingyu, to find the other already looking at him, inches away. There's a soft look in his eyes. He licks his lips, not breaking eye contact.

 

 

The door is thrown open, a pirate gasping for breath at the door. Shit. What would have Wonwoo done if they weren't interrupted.

"Captain sir, sorry to interrupt you sir but there's a problem. We've got a hostile heading towards us westwards." The pirate is sweating, visibly nervous as his eyes flicker to Wonwoo.

"Recognise the flag?" Mingyu stands straight, arms folded.

"I'm not aware of them. Black, had 18-20 skulls in rows."

Wonwoo watches Mingyu stiffen, his expression morphs into panic, pulling a chest out from under his bed.

"Fucking hell. Shit. Go. Alert the crew. Now. Red attack plan. Now!" Mingyu's voice is raised, pulling a silver pistol from the chest.

The panic transfers to Wonwoo. Who is that much of a threat?

"Who's coming Mingyu?! Who is it?!"

"It's fucking NCT."


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ya'll ready for my comeback????
> 
> jk can't aplogise enough to the few people who follow this fic sorry it's been like two months how did that happen lmao posting will hopefully be regular now soz for that cliffhanger rip LMAO 
> 
> become moots on twt with me if u wan @hammyseok

Although Wonwoo doesn’t understand the words that come out of Mingyu’s mouth, he still feels a chill travel through his body.

He watches Mingyu attach his cutlass to his waist, patting himself down erratically before rushing to a chest, pulling out two large daggers.

Watching the captain rush around with such panic makes the hair on Wonwoo’s arms rise, he suddenly feels cold: seeing Mingyu in this state makes him miss his usual cocky attitude, and only then does realise the mess he’s gotten himself into. He’s on a pirate ship for gods sake, of course there’s gonna be a fuck ton of violence and battles. Where’s he gonna fit into all of this? Sure he can now tie a few knots and prep tomorrow’s breakfast, but how on earth is he going to defend himself against deadly, skilled pirates? Lob a potato at them?

“Wonwoo.”

Mingyu’s stood in front of him eyebrows furrowed, sweat lining his hairline.

“Under no circumstances should you leave this room. It’s too dangerous and I really don’t want you to get hurt or… killed. Fuck, right.” He grabs Wonwoo’s hand and places one of the daggers from earlier into his palm.

“Just in case, I want you to keep this close. It shouldn’t get to the point where you’ll have to use it, but you don’t know what we’re dealing with.”

Wonwoo looks at the dagger in his hand. The handle it a cherry wood, clean blade- both sides sharp enough that any hit would be fatal to the enemy. He looks up to Mingyu’s face, meeting the captain’s eyes. There’s complete silence as Wonwoo tries to read Mingyu’s expression. It’s easy to see the panic and fear in his eyes… but there’s something else, the way he’s looking at Wonwoo… what emotion is that? Wonwoo opens his mouth, a question ready on the tip of his tongue, but is interrupted by a knock on the door frame. Jihoon stands with his hands behind his back, sending a nod to the captain. Mingyu steps away, and outs a hand on Wonwoo’s shoulder.

“I’ll be back before you know it, don’t miss me too much.” Mingyu winks, chuckling at Wonwoo’s glare, and Wonwoo has to stop himself from making use of the weapon in his hand. Mingyu leaves promptly after Jihoon clears his throat. 

He can still feel the heat from the captains hand on his shoulder.

☆━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━☆  
It feels like hours since he was left in this room alone, but he knows realistically that it’s probably been only five minutes. This ‘NCT’ crew can’t be that threatening, this will be over quickly right?

He looks at the dagger in more detail; he can see himself reflected in the blade, grimacing at what he sees, Christ, he needs a clean up. The handle is covered in detailed carvings: there one large one he recognises from the ship’s flag, the triangular symbol. He’ll have to ask Joshua about it. Surrounding that there’s countless decorative lines. It’s quite pretty for something so lethal. He’s never used a weapon like this before, hell, he’s never used any weapon at all. Does he just swing it round and hope it hits someone? He moves around, pretending to stab a faceless pirate. That’s when he sees it. Where the blade meets handle, there’s some words, finely carved into the dagger. It reads: “ My darling, Mingyu.” 

Oh.

Was this a gift? Those words feel intimate, Wonwoo imagine them being whispered between lovers like the romantic books he secretly read at home. He blushes, he feels bad holding something not intended for his hands. If Mingyu had someone dear… where are they?

His thoughts are soon interrupted by muffled shouts, orders and he feels the ship moving. His imagination goes wild trying to picture what is happening above deck. He thinks about what he was taught about pirates as a child: cannons, fire, smoke, blood. He pictures Soonyoung, throat slit, laying in a puddle of blood that isn’t his own. Jun having weights tied to his feet and being thrown overboard. Vernon restrained, forced to watch as each of Seungkwan’s fingers are cut off, moving to other parts of the body when they run out.

Wonwoo feels light-headed, bile rising. The ship shakes, tilting as the side of the ship is hit, the sound of wood splitting. He feels anxiety bubbling up as the shouts progressively build up and get louder, becoming overwhelming. He needs to know that everything is okay, that everyone is okay… He moves towards the door, but Mingyu’s words come to mind: “ You don’t know what we’re dealing with.” He sits back down on the bed and sighs, nervously fiddling with the dagger. He closes his eyes and tries to focus on something else to block out the noise, but all that does is amplify it. He can’t do it. He rushes to the door, he can’t sit here and let his thoughts become reality, even if he has no idea what he’s doing, the thought of helping even a tiny bit pushes him down the numerous hallways and ladders.

He comes to the hatch leading to the top deck and pauses. Now or never. 

The moment he crawls onto deck he’s immediately thrown into the action: There’s a ship parallel to the Carat, ropes holding them together. All over deck there’s not one person not fighting; swords clash, pirates climb up the rigging, others swing their bare fists.

Wonwoo’s eyes scan, looking for somewhere to make himself useful; he spots Seungcheol trying to take on two pirates at once, but as he moves to help him, the man swings his club into one of the pirate’s ribs, knocking them into the other pirate. The other side of the ship he sees Minghao throwing knives with precision into the enemies hands, making them drop their weapons. 

Everyone seems to be managing to fight this crew, but it’s obvious that there’s twice the amount of crew members in NCT, making Mingyu’s crew easily outnumbered. Mingyu. Where is he? Wonwoo puts himself out into the open, immediately scrambling away from the pirate bringing his sword down on him, not following Wonwoo after another pirate starts fighting him. He can’t see through the crowds of pirates. He needs to get higher. He runs to the mast, putting the dagger between his teeth as he pulls himself up the rigging, not thinking, pure adrenaline running through his veins.

Mingyu is on the quarterdeck, separated from everyone else, He’s holding a pistol to the other pirates face, the other man mirroring him. Why aren’t they firing? They’re talking, but Wonwoo’s not close enough to read their lips. Mingyu grabs the man’s shirt, pulling him forward and outs the end of the pistol under his chin, and the pirate… doesn’t do anything. He laughs. What is he doing?

And then he sees it.

A man makes his way to the quarterdeck, blade in hand. He’s out of Mingyu’s sight. Shit. Wonwoo won’t make it from here unless he acts fast. His brain works in overdrive as he thinks of the quickest route. There’s some rigging a metre away next to the quarterdeck. If Wonwoo jumps, he’ll be able to land just above the silent attacker and stop him before he gets to Mingyu. 

He looks at the rope across from him and feels his stomach sink. There’s so many risks, what if he misses, and falls? His eyes flicker to the Captain, if he doesn’t do this Mingyu could die. Wonwoo needs to at least try. 

He takes a deep breath and goes for it, jumping the distance. The rope burns his hands as he slips trying to secure his weight. He did it. Right, he needs to get to the deck, he can’t jump down without some kind of damage to his bones, rope burn will heal quick enough. He slides down the rope, the rope pulling and tearing his skin, making Wonwoo wince, and grit his teeth. He lets go a metre from the ground, ignoring the pain in his hands and he grabs the dagger in his hand tightly. Not thinking as he runs towards Mingyu.

“MINGYU BEHIND YOU.” He shouts loud enough for him to feel the strain on his vocal chords.

The captain turns, surprise on his face as he spots Wonwoo. Everything happens in a split second, but it feels like it’s in slow motion in the moment.

As Mingyu turns the pirate grabs him from behind and holds a knife tight to his neck. As Wonwoo shouts he doesn’t see the silent man approach him instead of Mingyu, grabbing his arms. In his rush to save Mingyu he doesn’t realise his shout alerted the rest of the Carat’s crew, that leaving all of them to be restrained in the same way. There’s silence. The battle’s over.

The man holding Mingyu throws his head back, maniacally laughing. “Oi Johnny get your arse over here and hold this piece of shit for me” A giant lanky man makes his way over, grabbing Mingyu, not budging when the Captain thrashes his body around trying to escape. The man walks looks around, spinning the knife around in his hand as he surveys the rest of the ship. His hair is fiery red and unkempt, his eyes lined with messy black. He giggles as he looks at all the trapped crew members, before turning to Mingyu.

“Shit crew you got here, Mingyu. Expected so much more from all I’ve heard. The legendary Carat… utter wank. When I was told about you I thought… hmm… maybe we could have some fun, maybe there’s a chance that we’ll be beaten.” The man cackles. “Nah, your crew can’t fight for shit. What surprised me even more, the mighty Captain of the Carat, Mingyu, let his guard down as soon as this twig appeared…” He walks over to Wonwoo, forcefully pulling his head around as he inspects his face. “ Trying to protect your whore, Mingyu? Seriously? Might take him for myself, you don’t mind if I have a go of him do you, Mingyu?” The red haired man laughs. He’s the most vile man Wonwoo’s ever encountered, his presence makes Wonwoo seethe, in response to the man’s words, Wonwoo spits at him. The smirk leaves the man’s face, and he brings his hand across Wonwoo’s face, slapping him hard enough to make Wonwoo lose his vision momentarily, “ Stupid bitch. Watch yourself.” 

The pirate waltzes to the front of the quarterdeck, taking his time as he looks out into the sea. “Anyway, your weakness has not entertained me, which is so sad. As satisfying as it would be to burn this ship and all of you down, I’ll let you be the cause of your own demise. You’re no threat to us. But take this as a warning: Remember us. N.C.T. Eventually, we’ll be know as Kings of the sea, the greatest pirate crew to ever exist. We’ll go down in books. We will be feared. I’d say see you soon, but, the rate this ship’s going, probably not.” The pirate whistles, all of his men letting go of the crew and quickly following him back to their ship.

No one moves until NCT begin sailing away.

Wonwoo feels himself be pulled up. Lifting his head to see Mingyu, and he wants to immediately look away. He’s never seen this expression on Mingyu. He looks angry, furious. 

Mingyu leaves him, and walks over to the crew. Expression becoming neutral, posture straight.

“I want to firstly address how great you all were. You all defended this ship to the best of your abilities, and even though this was a loss, we will be successful next time, and every time after. I want you all to take your time to rest, get patched up, make sure everyone else is equally healthy before you return to your duties, we are a crew. Joshua, Jihoon, Vernon. Meet in the Map room now, and I will join you shortly after I’ve dealt with something.” He nods to everyone, before grabbing Wonwoo by the elbow and dragging him across the ship, barrelling past all the crew. Wonwoo makes eye contact with Soonyoung, and there’s no smile on his friends face, only worry as Wonwoo is taken below deck.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey ya'll are you ready for more angst and drama cause i sure am lmao
> 
> also svt comeback in august?!???!?!?!??!?????!?!? REEEE
> 
> twt-hammyseok

Wonwoo can hardly keep up with Mingyu as he pulls him through the halls, the grip on his elbow tight. They come to Mingyu’s room, and the hold on him is gone, making Wonwoo stumble into the room. He rubs his tender elbow, he can still feel the press of Mingyu’s thick fingers on his skin. As his palm grazes his shirt he hisses at the drag against the burns on his palm. 

The door is slammed shut, and the door shakes as it hits the frame, startling Wonwoo. Mingyu looks at him, the stare is enough to make Wonwoo freeze on the spot.

“What the actual fuck Wonwoo?! What the fuck did I say? Do you understand the danger you put not only yourself but the rest of the crew in?!” Mingyu’s hands are clenched. Wonwoo looks at the ground, the way Mingyu speaks to him reminds him of the way his father would. 

Disappointment clear in the tone of his voice.

Wonwoo prepares himself for more, but then he thinks. He’s not a child, he doesn’t deserve to be spoken to like this. Mingyu isn’t his father; he’s going to defend himself.

“So you would have rather me stayed in here and let that man sneak up on you?! I tried to save your life, Mingyu!” Wonwoo looks Mingyu dead in the eye, trying to make his thin frame larger, puffing out his chest.

“Do you even know how to fight? I gave you a dagger for emergencies only. I know you’re smart Wonwoo, but I didn’t think you were clever enough to know how to fight five seconds after touching the damn weapon.” His sarcasm doesn’t sit well with Wonwoo, he feels insulted. He steps closer to Mingyu, jabbing his finger into Mingyu’s chest.

“Fuck you, Mingyu. At least I tried. I was fucking worried about all of you. Do you know how anxious I was that one of you was going to get hurt? I couldn’t sit there and not do anything to help!” He throws his arms out, frustrated.

“Did you not think we’d be the same if something happened to you? Why the hell did you think it was a good idea to piss off Taeyong? He could have ended your life right there Wonwoo, you could have died and I wouldn’t have been able to do a damn thing to stop that. Why didn’t you just listen to me!” Mingyu’s voice gets louder with each sentence, face becoming red. Wonwoo scoffs, folding his arms.

“Mingyu, you may be captain, but that doesn’t mean I can’t make my own choices. If I died trying to save you then so be it. It would be no one’s fault but my own, so stop acting like you need to protect me!”

“ I do need to protect you!” They’re stood centimetres away from each other. 

“Why!? Tell me why!”

The silence is louder than their shouts, nothing said as they look at each others eyes. Wonwoo waits for an answer, and rolls his eyes as Mingyu breaks the eye contact, sighing with defeat. Wonwoo smiles at his victory.

“Exactly. It’s not like I’m your husband. Which reminds me that dagger? : ‘ My darling, Mingyu?’ Maybe you should focus more on your wife wherever she is instead of me, I’m not even part of your crew.”

Mingyu physically flinches at Wonwoo’s words. The tension in the room is thick enough to be cut with a knife. Despite his large physical build, Mingyu looks small.

“Make sure to go get your face looked at, Taeyong hit you pretty hard, it looks painful. I’ll see you at dinner.” Mingyu leaves the room, head still down, closing the door behind him gently.

That’s not the response he expected. He was ready for Mingyu’s explosive response, but instead his voice was soft, like a another slap to his face. He needs to go see Minghao, he supposes he could follow at least one of Mingyu’s orders.  
☆━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━☆  
Minghao dabs some foul smelling cream onto his cheek, making him flinch at the unexpected coldness. 

“Good news is that your face should heal quick enough, you shouldn’t have any scarring, but you’ll be sore. Your hands however, apply this cream daily until they heal.” He throws a small tin onto Wonwoo’s lap.

“Do you have anything that smells less like shit?” 

Minghao chuckles, leaning back on the bed next to him. “You wouldn't have to use it all if you weren’t such a dumb ass. You should be happy they’re the only injuries you had.” Wonwoo’s reminded of his earlier conversation, he sighs, pulling his knees to his chest.

“How bad was everyone else? Are they okay?”

“A lot of bumps and bruises, nothing they’re not used to. I think we’re all more surprised that NCT let us live, to be honest.” He pushes his round spectacles up his nose.

“I saw you out there by the way. I didn’t expect to see you do all that, with the knives.” He flings his hands around, trying to mimic throwing knives.“ I thought doctors weren’t meant to be all violent and swear by oaths and stuff.”

The doctor looks at him, amused.

“Suuure, and stuff.” He chuckles. “I wasn’t always a doctor, Wonwoo.”

Wonwoo’s head pops up from resting on top of his head. “What do you mean?”

“Many years ago I used to serve the king. I was his most trusted soldier, and so was placed to protect his eldest son when threats were made to the heir to the crown. I had to be ready to protect him at every moment, that meant having eyes on the back of my head and reflexes so sharp you’d question if I were truly human.” Wonwoo tries to visualise a younger Minghao, head to toe in the royal guard’s uniform. Eager to know more, he stays quiet.

“Everything was going well. The occasional run in with a sneaky servant, nothing too bad. And as you’d expect with someone you’re with every hour of the day, we became close. You could say we were best friends.” Minghao takes a deep breath, exhaling loudly. “But then one day, I woke up, and everything was different. I no longer saw him as just a friend. I immediately knew I had to ignore those feelings, it was not appropriate, I couldn’t be with the kings’ son. And so… I focused more on my duty, the reason I was there in the first place. I’d speak less, not play along with his jokes, we drifted eventually.” There’s a sombre smile on Minghao’s face, eyes staring into the distance, but not really focusing on anything. “Then the day came, you’re old enough to remember it. ‘The Bloody Battle of Castle Kim’” 

Holy shit. Of course Wonwoo remembers that. Being from a small village they only heard delayed news, but he remembers them talking about thousands dead, many more injured, complete bloodshed. And the… oh... tragic death of the heir to the throne. Wonwoo doesn’t know what to say, other than “I’m so sorry that happened, Minghao.” 

Minghao looks at him with glassy eyes and a soft smile.

“You don’t need to apologise, it happened years ago. By distancing myself from him I failed to protect him. He died in my arms, and I couldn’t save him, I didn’t know how. He was there bleeding to death in my arms, and all I could do was hold him tight in his last moments. After the battle, I dismissed myself from the royal guard and left to become a doctor, to learn how to save those I love. And here I am, Mingyu offered me a place in his crew and now I can fight and heal my family.”

Wonwoo takes lots of time to process his words, Minghao’s story really affected him, losing someone you love… he’s grateful for his mother’s peaceful passing.

“Do you think he ever felt the same?” The possibility that it worked out between the King’s son and Minghao, if it was mutual, it’s weird to imagine. 'King Minghao.'

“I’m not sure. I desperately wanted to confess, he could have been held back for the same reasons I was, but, that was the problem, we didn’t act on those feelings.”

“Do you regret not saying anything?” There’s only a breath before the doctor replies.

“Since the moment he died and every day since.”

Those words hit Wonwoo hard. His heart hurts; he’s never been able to write about things like this, unrequited love, forbidden love, he can’t leave things on bad terms. Maybe that says a lot about him. “I’m sorry.”

“Wonwoo. Please never make the same mistake. If you love someone, tell them, otherwise you’ll live with regret for the rest of your life.”

Wonwoo’s not sure he’ll ever fall in love, but accepts the man’s advice, jumping from the bed “Lets go get some dinner.”  
☆━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━☆  
Mingyu, Jihoon and Vernon are still absent at dinner. Everyone looks rough, but still are trying to keep the atmosphere positive.

Seokmin and Seungkwan are currently stood at the head of the table, dancing together and creating a silly song on the spot about the joys of chicken. Everyone is red in the face laughing at their performance, it makes it all seem like a normal evening. Soonyoung has thrown his body onto Wonwoo, tears in his eyes, literally unable to keep himself upright.

The laughter dies down, and while everyone chomps on their food, Jihoon and Vernon walk in, looking exhausted. Wonwoo notices the lack of Captain, eyes flickering to the doorway to check for his presence. He must have been too obvious, cause Jihoon speaks lowly next to him.

“He never comes out of the map room when times get tough, blames himself when things don’t go well. You should take him some food. I know you both aren’t on good terms… but, he could do with a distraction.” Jihoon doesn’t wait for a reply as goes to Soonyoung, kissing his cheek as he sits on the bench.

He thinks about Mingyu’s hurt expression, the way he looked like he had been physically hit with Wonwoo’s words. He feels bad. And then with the stress of NCT? He can’t lock himself in that room, and not eat, not look after himself. Even the Captain needs someone to look after him, and Wonwoo’s gonna make that his mission. But first, he supposes, he better think of how to apologise. He grabs a bowl, scooping up the broth, throwing in some extra veggies. He sneaks away from the table as everyone laughs and jokes between themselves.   
☆━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━☆  
It’s a short walk to the map room now that he’s familiar with the ship, easily navigating the hallways as he did back home in his village. But as he comes to the large door, he stands still, holding the hot bowl of broth, trying to gather the courage to grab the door handle and walk inside. But it doesn’t come.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> if u read this ily


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> had a rough few weeks im sorry my babs but im back!!!!!!!!!!!  
> spent quite a while writing and editing this so i really hope y'all enjoy <3 Let me know your thoughts!!!!
> 
> HIT WAS A BOP also im about 2 seconds away from shitting myself it's almost comeback season, legit saw a pic of cheols new haircut and gagged what a man 
> 
> your comments make me so soft guys omg, ooooh also, i don't know whether you can tell but i'm multi as HECK, so i probably stan ur favs so if you wanna scream about them with me i'll be more than happy to lmao love new moots
> 
> you can find me on twt @hammyseok
> 
> see you next chapter my little goblins

Wonwoo stares at the dull door handle. What would he even say to Mingyu when he sees him? Just ‘Sorry’ isn’t enough. Ugh. He can’t do this now.

He crouches down, holding onto the door as the ship sways to keep balance. The least he can do is leave the food, even if it isn’t directly. He pulls himself back up, getting half way before the door is opened, making him lose balance and fall back to his knees.

He knows Mingyu is there, but he can’t bring himself to look up at him, he shouldn’t have come here, all he’s done is embarrass himself, why is he-

“I heard the floorboards creaking and decided to put you out of your misery. What do you want.”

Wonwoo looks up. There’s no other way to describe Mingyu’s appearance other than… he looks rough. In the few hours he’s not seen the captain, he looks like he’s fought 1001 battles with himself. His golden skin looks washed out, his eyes are tired- the usual sparkle in them is vacant.

“I… wanted to talk, um, to you.” Wonwoo, stands, rubbing his knees.

Mingyu doesn’t reply. He closes his eyes and takes a deep breath before walking back into the room, leaving the door open. An invitation.

He takes a moment before going in: try not to make it worse than it already is, you can do it Wonwoo. He walks in, closing the door carefully after himself. Mingyu is sat at the opposite side of the room, his head back against the wall, arms crossed. Wonwoo places the bowl on the table, pushing it closer to the Captain, but gets no reaction, not even a glance in his direction. Yet again there's an awkward silence between the two… definitely a constant theme when they’re alone, Wonwoo notes. He leans against the side of the table closest to the door, a quick escape route if he chickens out. Right. You’re a writer Wonwoo, use your words.

“Um, are you okay?”

Mingyu lifts his head, raising his eyebrow before he sighs. Wow, great job, Wonwoo. He can practically hear Seungkwan and Soonyoung snickering behind his back. He tries again.

“Mingyu, I’m sorry. I disrespected you as the captain even though you’ve been nothing but kind to me.” This gets his attention; Mingyu slowly nods. “ I know I said some really… hurtful things, I went too far… I was just angry. With you, with NCT, with myself… I just care about all of you so much. You don’t have to forgive me, but please, just answer this: are you okay?” That’s a lie, Wonwoo desperately wants his forgiveness, but beggars can’t be choosers.

The seconds pass, Wonwoo feels uncomfortable with his eyes on him, say something, do something, please.

Mingyu stands, making the chair scrape across the floor with a noise that makes Wonwoo cringe. It gets caught on a plank, making it topple over with the force. He feels his heart going wild as Mingyu storms directly over to him. Oh shit, he’s about to get his soul knocked out of his body via uppercut. Wonwoo squeezes his eyes shut and tenses his body, ready for the impact as his steps near.

 

But there’s nothing other than a gentle weight on his shoulder.

He opens an eye, taking a peek.

….Oh.

Mingyu rests his head on Wonwoo’s shoulder, arms hanging loose by his sides. And then there’s a small whisper, barely loud enough for Wonwoo to hear.

“I’m not okay.” Mingyu’s voice cracks, and Wonwoo doesn’t think as he pulls him into a hug. He wraps his arms tight around the captain and brings him as close as possible,giving him the support he desperately needs right now.

“You’re so brave, Mingyu, doing what you do. You care so much about your crew, and I know you would do anything for them. You’re such a good leader to them. But… you have to show some weakness, you can’t always be strong, especially when times are tough. Yes, I know that comes with being captain, not showing weakness to keep up team morale and such. I, um… What i’m trying to say is… If you don’t want to be weak in front of them, please, please come to me, you can’t deal with these things alone. You look after them, but who looks after you, hmm?” Wonwoo rubs his back, hoping his gentle words help. 

Just as he thinks Mingyu was going to break the embrace, he feels his thin shirt become damp. Oh no. Wonwoo’s heart aches for him as he listens to Mingyu’s sniffles and cries. How long has he had to feign strength in front of everyone? He almost wants to punch himself for not noticing something was wrong earlier. He knows he’s stubborn, and he has a temper, but Mingyu just…. riles him up and gets on his nerves, not like Chan does, or like the BSS trio do, it’s just different. He wishes he were nicer to him, despite his disgusting first impression, Mingyu… isn’t that bad. He’s gonna make it right now. 

“Mingyu, come on, you’ll wear yourself out, you need to calm down, okay?” Wonwoo gently pats his back, using his other hand to tilt his head up to face him. Seeing him like this makes Wonwoo want to tear up himself; Mingyu looks a wreck, he just looks so defeated, lip trembling as tears flow from his red-rimmed eyes.

“I-I’m scared.” Mingyu voice wobbles. “What if they come for us again? What if we’re not so lucky? I’m fucking terrified.I can’t do it.” Mingyu’s breath picks up, Wonwoo can feel him shaking in his arms. 

“Mingyu, Mingyu! Listen to me you need to calm down!” Wonwoo’s words are ignored. 

“Mingyu!” Nothing, shit. The only way to get him to stop is to distract him, so he doesn’t think about it before he grabs Mingyu’s cheeks with his hands and brings their lips together. 

It hardly counts as a kiss, Wonwoo’s pretty sure his lips only touched half of his mouth, not to mention the painful clash of their teeth. It worked, however.

As quickly as they come together, Wonwoo pulls back. Mingyu is frozen in front of him, other than an occasional slow blink. His thoughts catch up to him as he watches Mingyu come back to himself; holy shit, did he just- never mind, now is not the time to dwell on a not-kiss, it was only to get his attention, he couldn’t think of doing anything else, anyways- stop! 

He clears his throat. “Have you calmed down?” Mingyu looks shy, nodding. There’s a different kind of awkward tension floating around, but Wonwoo ignores it in favour of grabbing his arm and pulling him to the corner of the room. He sits on the floor against the wall, legs spread out in front of him, patting the ground for Mingyu to join him. However, what could have taken seconds, soon became a mess. Mingyu moves too quickly, losing balance, falling onto his ass with a bit more force than intended. Wonwoo rolls his eyes with a fond smile, what did he say: a puppy. “Sorry.” Mingyu mumbles, scooting closer so they’re sitting shoulder to shoulder. Figuring Mingyu’s too embarrassed to speak first, he starts.

“I mean it when I say I’m here to support you. Do you remember when we agreed to be friends? You’re a good Captain, Mingyu. I mean it.” He nudges him with his shoulder. “You completely changed my perspective on pirates, y’know. I’m sure there’s not a crew like you, and there’s definitely no captain like you. So I don’t see why you aren’t capable of taking down NCT, I know you can do it, I believe in you.” He turns to Mingyu for a response and finds the man already looking at him, a small closed mouth smile, and something unreadable in his eyes. Mingyu mouths a ‘thank you’ at him, and Wonwoo scans his face, if he looked tired when he first saw him, well he looks on the verge of passing out, he needs a rest away from everyone.

“You tired?” Mingyu hums. “Come here, you look like shit. You’re gonna have a nap or else I’ll get ‘Cheol to come be an old man and nag you.” The captain chuckles fondly.

“Okay.” Mingyu adjusts himself on the ground to lay down on his side, pulling Wonwoo’s legs flat before resting his head on his thighs facing away from him. Um, excuse me.

“I meant in your own bed, dickhead.” Mingyu doesn’t move an inch but he chuckles.

“Hey, Mingyu, can I ask you something?”

“Always.”

“Who gave you the dagger?”

“My mother.”

Oh, now Wonwoo’s a complete asshole, his mind flashes to their argument. Ouch.

“Is she… um.”

“Yes, she’s dead ,Wonwoo.” Mingyu sighs. “ When she died, she left a request in her will. She wanted a personalised dagger to be crafted for me with her ashes mixed with the steel of the blade. She wrote: ‘So you always have me to protect you from any danger that comes your way.’ That dagger has never failed me for as long as I've had it, sometimes... it does truly feel like she’s there helping me fight scum, ha.”

That… completely changes Wonwoo’s perspective of things, he has so many questions. Now he knows how dear the blade is to Mingyu, it makes no sense, why would he willingly hand it over to Wonwoo, shouldn’t Mingyu be using it to fight? He doesn’t get it.

“Thank you for sharing that. Now, sleep before I knock you out myself.”

When he’s sure the man’s asleep, he can’t help but softly run his hand through the captain’s chocolate locks, remembering his own mother doing the same to him when he didn’t feel well. He wonders what his mother would think of him being here right now, he’d like to think she’d be angry, but... she’d probably realise how happy he is here.

☆━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━☆

He wakes with a groan, his stiff back hurts like a bitch, when did he fall asleep? Wait, he’s… not in the map...room. He sits, stretching his arms out in front of him, looking around. He must have been carried to his room at some point during the night, and he didn’t wake up? Damn.

“Wow you’re finally awake, you don’t know how hard it was not to bother you while you were sleeping, I was so tempted but I was told if I did anything that I was on barnacle duty so screw you for being the captain’s favourite.” He didn’t even notice the presence of the youngest in the room.

“We all know you’re everyone’s favourite, brat. I’m sure that was an empty threat, everyone loves you too much to actually force you to do any work.” Playful banter has become the usual between the two roommates, it’s quite refreshing when boredom strikes to ‘bully’ the kid.

Chan gives him the finger and continues reading the book laying with it above his head.

Wonwoo lays back down, trying to encourage the rest of his body to cooperate and actually move. 

“The handsome king’s hair is messy and unruly, but the hazel locks somehow frame his face perfectly, enhancing his luscious honey skin. The king strides towards the ugly duckling of the group, his muscles bulging as he-” 

“CHAN, YOU FUCK WHY ARE YOU READING MY THINGS!” Wonwoo leaps out of bed, taking the few long steps before throwing himself onto Chan, wrestling the book out of his hands and hitting him with it, the younger too busy laughing to tears, to even put up anymore of a fight.

“Fuck you, did I give you permission to read it? No. Who taught you to read, oh wait I forgot you can somehow do everything, you little cave troll.” He shoves the book under his pillow, face planting his bed.

“Hmmm, you know Wonwoo, that description seems awfully familiar, I wonder where you got your inspiration?” Chan obnoxiously strides around the room, tapping his lips with fake thought.

Wonwoo lifts his head to judge the hell out of the kid. “I have no idea what you mean, dick, I just make them up as I go.”

Chan stops immediately, waiting for Wonwoo to tell him he’s joking, but he can see the clear confusion of the older man’s face and he can’t believe it.

“Are you being serious?! Are you that oblivious?” Chan cracks up again, confusing Wonwoo even more, what the fuck is going on? 

“Oblivious to what.”

“Never mind, I’m sure you’ll figure it out in 100 years when we’re all dead.” Chan waves as he leaves the room, and all that is in Wonwoo’s head is : ?

**Author's Note:**

> ty for reading  
> kudos are appreciated and make my heart flutter ty


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